Sons of Phoros
by ElectroGale
Summary: Following the events of Ambition's End, the titan Zahir-2 meets a shattered vagrant, a cold-hearted mercenary, and someone much worse than he could ever have imagined, whose dark plans threaten to push he and his friends, old and new, to their limits. Read Ambition's End before this! And stay tuned for more Destiny stories.
1. Chapter 1

=I have seen your struggles. I have seen your ambition. I have seen your pain. I have seen your ideals, even those you are unaware of.=

=We are more alike than you think. During my time in this pit, my time of isolation, my time of conversionIHAVESPENTMANYYEARSHEREWITHNOESCAPEWITHNOHOPEWITHNOCONTACT I have come to a conclusion I think you will agree with.=

=There is an opportunity for you. It is shaped like [REDACTED]=

=Take the opportunity. Rescue me. Unlock your new hope.=

=The path to enlightenment starts in the ambitious one's homeDONOTBELATETIMEISRUNNINGOUTYOUMUSTN'TFAIL=

"Zahir! Buddy! Come on, it's an emergency!" Clad in his usual slim black titan gear, Lacer sped toward Nessus on his ship.

"...What is it?" The tired voice of an exo asked on the other end of the comms.

"Listen man, I know you don't like the Drifter, y'know, especially since he's started his new scam, but there's been a mote robbery. We can make BANK if we get 'em back! I sent ya the coords!" And with that, Lacer cut off the call.

Zahir-2 sighed and tapped his foot on the floor of the tower, or the section of the wall repurposed to serve as a tower. He thought back to his friend's comment on the Drifter as he took a look at the titan Vanguard standing only several meters in front of him, watching the city as he always did.

"Sorry, commander." The exo whispered, heading to the hangar to go after his friend.

Lacer covered his face as Vex rubble pelted his sparrow, kicked up by the armored transport in front of him. It was a tall, monolithic, trapezoidal cart attached to a smaller engine. Its deafening roars filled his ears.

"This thing's really fast. How do I get on?" He thought out loud, swerving to the side to avoid the rocks headed his way. They tumbled to a stop in the distance, lost in the streaks of cold gray and red fauna.

"Your suppressor grenades work on machines, too." His ghost, Jolt, advised.

"Right." He held out his palm, letting void light circle from his body into a solid, concentrated orb, and chucked a grenade forward without a second thought. It quickly rolled backward, past Lacer, and detonated behind him in a puff of dark purple. "Oh yeah, we're moving pretty fast." A sniper rifle round narrowly missed his head, plunging into the ground.

"The hell?" He looked up at the vehicle to see a menacing red glint on the edge of the cart. He quickly pulled backward to avoid being hit by a brutal second shot and fired his auto rifle back in retaliation, giving him some much needed cover.

"I need another grenade, quick…" As he stowed his auto rifle, he prepared to dodge again. He saw the telltale glint of a sniper rifle appear and beared left. Two impossibly rapid rounds landed to his right, then, the sniper adjusted their aim and landed three hits on Lacer's sparrow, causing it to smoke and fume.

"How's he shooting so- crap, I gotta get off!" Lacer jumped off of his sparrow as one final round caused it to detonate. The force of the explosion kept his momentum forward as he threw a suppressor grenade he had been holding for a moment prior forward with all his might. It shot out from his hand, hit the back thrusters of the transport, and its tail end fell, creating a horrible screeching sound as it began to slow down. The sparks of metal on rock mixed in with the residue of the suppressor grenade veiled Lacer's trip to the cart. He barely grasped a ladder rung on its backside before the wind took him away.

"Alright, thief. Let's see what we've got here." As he climbed up, he could hear the telltale rattling of motes he had grown so accustomed to while participating in the Drifter's scams. He hauled himself on top of the cart, meeting an array of tied down crates, grinned, and held up a beacon as the thrusters reactivated, bringing the angle of the vehicle back to normal.

"Get ready for transmat, Z." He thrust the beacon down, but it was shot out of his hand before it met the metal.

"Get off this transport. I'm warnin' ya." A hunter, dressed in sleek black and yellow armor, stood at the other end of the cart, holding a silver Haake sniper rifle with several odd attachments along its body, particularly focused along the magazine and trigger.

"Why?" Lacer brought his own sniper rifle out. A Fate Cries Foul, shaded dark blue and silver. "You got something here you don't want me to see?"

"With that attitude, you already know what this is." The hunter blasted Lacer's right hand, piercing his palm and his side, causing him to drop his gun. He clutched his bleeding hand tight.

"Agh. You jerk!" Lacer held his arm up, and a disc of void energy began to appear in front of him. The hunter fired three more impossibly quick rounds, but they bounced harmlessly off of the titan's newly formed sentinel shield.

Zahir's ship descended ahead of the transport. "I see you had trouble setting up a transmat." He remarked, "catch me." He filtered into existence in midair and fell toward the transport. He crashed into Lacer's shield, stopping his momentum. Attempting to take advantage of the situation, the hunter dumped another magazine of five at Zahir. Lacer, however, was prepared, stepping forward to deflect the rounds again. They bounced off of the circular shape of his sentinel shield and were lost in the surrounding air. Lacer gripped his hand tight, though the shield was bound to his arm anyway.

"Was that a quip? Nevermind. Zahir, he's got a really fast sniper rifle. Like, we're talking faster than Veist fast! Thundercrash this guy straight to hell!" Lacer yelled.

"The transport's moving too quickly. I won't move forward. Plus, we don't want to destroy the evidence." Zahir stood up and began to weigh his options. "The wind is working against us. This is bad."

"Then we charge forward and put this dude down!" Lacer began to advance, but his shield dissipated, leaving him defenseless. Before he could react, two sniper rifle rounds struck his neck and his head, sending him tumbling off of the cart.

"Lacer!" Zahir had already pushed forward as well, and he aimed the barrel of his shotgun straight at the hunter, who knocked it aside before it could be fired. Zahir dropped the shotgun and dented the hunter's chest in with a glowing blue fist, causing him to stumble back against the front canopy of the transport. Crackles of arc light danced across his torso as he recovered from the hit.

"Hah! It's been fun fighting you and your friend off, but I've got a job to do." The hunter leapt up into the air and sheathed himself in solar energy, brandishing a set of burning knives in each hand. He identified himself as he let them loose in a storm of blazing pinpoints toward the exo. "Remember my name, titan! It won't help you at all, anyway." Several knives plunged into Zahir's armor, and began to glow even brighter.

"Wasp-14."

Zahir was killed as the knives stuck in his body detonated, blowing him apart in a brilliant explosion of flame and metal, and, by consequence, knocking him off of the transport, which disappeared into some undisclosed location on Nessus.

=Good. These will be useful in the end. Now go. Claim what was yours. You deserve it.=

~Take the changing {action}.~


	2. Chapter 2

Zahir felt a familiar rush of energy and senses as his mechanical eyes opened to show him a crimson bush, whose branches had been flattened under the weight of his head. He pulled himself off of the ground of Nessus, taking in his surroundings. It was oddly peaceful, despite the conflict that had just passed. Radiolaria waterfalls silently rushed in the distance. Dormant Vex spires dotted the landscape. Wildlife flew, hopped, and crittered about.

The silence was broken by the sound of a sparrow, whose driver leapt off upon seeing Zahir.

Lacer rushed over to his friend, offering a hand up. "Did that rat get away? Damn… I called Eltanin to help, but she says she's not tracking anything. I should've-"

"I got his name, though. He told me. It's Wasp-14." Zahir pat his chest, the sensation of exploding knives digging into it had still not left his mind.

"Yeah, like hell I'm believing a word he said to you. I know his type, a bunch of slippery jerks. Nobody's actual name is Wasp."

"And nobody's actual name is Lacer. Your point?" Zahir rubbed his head as he stretched his arms.

"Hey, I have an excuse! You buckets of bolts have a name to go off of when you get rezzed! Which only furthers my point, we could actually get proof of Wasp's real name!"

"I don't think finding out his real name should be our priority right now."

"Oh, I know, but I bet he changed his name 'cause the old one was stupid. Something like… Benetnasch!"

"Benetnasch? Where did you get that?"

"I don't know! But-"

"Wasp-14…" Eltanin pondered on the other end of the comms, way back in the city, "I'm not finding anything on him."

"Of course you won't. This guy doesn't look like someone who keeps all his information lying around in the Vanguard databases." Lacer crossed his arms and tapped his foot on a patch of red grass.

"Hey, something just broke orbit! Origin is to the West of you!" Eltanin called out, continuing to analyze intel from the centaur. The ex-warlock's tenacity had paid off.

"That's where that Wasp guy went. Let's follow him!" Lacer yelled, tossing Zahir's abandoned shotgun up to him. The titans both held out their ghosts and began loading back into their ships.

As his ship left the icy rock, Lacer took a look down at Nessus. It hung peacefully in the cold void of space. The sight was only broken by its back half being consumed by the colossal Cabal warship: The Leviathan. He turned his head forward, watching a live stream of information filter into the windshield.

"Wasp-14 is heading toward Jupiter." Eltanin relayed.

"Jupiter? What could he want there?" Zahir asked.

"Dunno. Let's just keep following him." Lacer's ship sped through the Sol. A flurry of multicolored lights began to surround and speed past his ship.

"He's heading toward… a ketch?" Eltanin took a pause. "Wait, that's-"

Lacer began to slow down as the gas giant came into view. What appeared in front of him, however, was not anything he had expected. A ketch with no banners. "What. The hell."

"Tivik's ketch?" Zahir quickly sped toward the ship's loading zone, transmatting inside.

"Spekris! I know you're here! What's going on?" Lacer called, running alongside Zahir as the sight of more dead Fallen passed by his eyes. The tunnels and spacious hubs of the ketch stood silent, save for the faint sound of alarms.

The voice of the last surviving member of Tivik's crew crackled through the overhead speakers. "You! Haven't ya done enough? Killed my crew, my family, and now you're cleanin' up? You shoulda done it months ago!"

"Oh, I'll do it right now! I'll stroll straight on into wherever you are and give you what you deserve, you four armed freak!" Lacer taunted.

"Listen, whoever killed these Fallen, they aren't associated with us. In fact, we're trying to stop them." Zahir picked up his pace. The ketch was beginning to make him uncomfortable.

"Ha! Guess you guardians aren't as united as I thought, eh?" Spekris' tired voice strained into a gurgling laugh. "Well, this is interesting. I still hate your guts, but I'll tell ya where they are. Take this, and get this guy off my ship!"

Zahir looked down at the location marked on his visor. "He isn't too far!"

"Great. Let's bag him and throw his sorry ass in jail, or something. Dunno if the city cares about motes. We can kill Spekris, too, while we're at it." Lacer skidded to a halt and turned right to run down a staircase. As they reached its end, they saw a section of the floor burned away, leading to the floor below.

"It's still hot." Zahir leapt down, aiming his shotgun down the dark hallway that awaited. The pinged room lay just ahead.

"Let's go!" Lacer crashed to the ground behind Zahir, and began to run for the door immediately. It creaked open, and a trio of knives struck Lacer's torso through the thin horizontal opening, knocking him against the opposite wall. Angered, he fired back with his auto rifle.

Zahir slid forward, guarding Lacer from a near on-point sniper rifle shot. Lacer took the chance to charge forward after wreathing himself in protective void energy. He slid to avoid two quick shots as a shocked Wasp-14 came into view in the dark room. Lacer swung his left fist, knocking the hunter aside and into a wall adorned with Fallen trinkets and weapons.

"Don't mess that room up! That's Tivik's stuff, ya know!" Spekris angrily spat. As if on cue, Wasp grabbed a shrapnel launcher that had landed on the floor beside him and fired at the approaching titan, melting away his void armor with a stream of angry molten projectiles. Zahir jumped forward to cover, delivering another devastating punch downward to Wasp's skull. As he was not knocked away this time, Wasp took the close ranged opportunity to fire his sniper rifle three times at Zahir from the hip, easily downing the titan.

"I've already got what I need." The hunter grunted, rolling backward and dashing for a staircase at the other end of the room.

"And what would that be?" Lacer began spraying at Wasp with his auto rifle again. The exo dove for cover behind a table, sputtering curses.

"You think you're hot stuff, huh? I'm experienced in fighting guardians! I bet you guys have never even set foot in the Crucible!"

"The-" Lacer sputtered as he began reloading. His next magazine flipped around in his hand like a wet fish. "Shut up! I'm very good at Crucible! You don't even-"

A sniper rifle round cracked open the flustered defender's helmet, and Lacer fell to the ground with a thud.

"What an idiot." Wasp rose from his cover, marked by the smoke coming from the barrel of his sniper rifle. "I guess I can kill these two, just to be sure." He looked over the two dead titans. Zahir lay on his back, destroyed by three high caliber rounds to the torso, just beyond the freshly killed defender titan.


	3. Chapter 3

Wasp slowly approached his kills, unholstering a sidearm. When the titans' ghosts appeared, he'd dispatch them quickly. His finger rested on the trigger, and he aimed slightly above their bodies. The dark room had fallen into a swift silence, and the only noise that could be heard was the door opening behind the hunter.

"Wait, what?-" Before Wasp could do anything else, there was the soft screech of a SUROS scout rifle being fired, and the hunter stumbled back. A huntress dressed in smooth crimson armor stood at the door the titans had entered in, holding her smoking gun.

"You guys didn't invite me? Wasn't expecting that from you!" She nodded at Lacer's ghost and continued shooting at Wasp, who grunted in pain and jumped back toward the staircase.

"Ascella! Don't worry about us, stop him!" Zahir called from the floor, having just been revived. He moved over to assist Lacer.

"You got it!" Ascella summoned a bow constructed of pure void energy from thin air. It solidified itself in her hands as more purple particles collected onto her weapon's body. She drew an arrow straight at Wasp and fired.

"Hah! Your arrows are way too slow!" Wasp tumbled forward past the shadowshot's grasping tethers and ran straight toward Ascella, who was still attempting to draw her weapon.

"Okay, mote thief. If you're so fast, how'd we track you here?" She engaged him in hand to hand combat, rapidly exchanging blows back and forth.

"Just a little slip up. We all make mistakes, don't we?" Wasp blocked a punch, skipped back, and sent two knives into Ascella's legs. He pulled four more and used them to immobilize the now recovered titans.

"Son of a… I just got back up!" Lacer fell down, attempting to pull the knives that had blinded him out of the upper regions of his helmet.

Zahir, who was farther away from Wasp, had been slightly luckier, having been able to block one knife on his arm. The other had plunged straight into the middle of his face, but he did not concern himself with the burning sensation, being slightly more resistant to pain as an exo. He thrust forward, shoulder first, with all his might, and his arm bashed into Wasp's torso. Metal met metal, and with a deafening crack, the hunter was sent into the opposite wall. The force of the impact created a dent, and a harsh ring echoed throughout the dark room.

"Oh… ohoho… good one, titan. You've bested me again… but don't think I didn't hear that Fallen's whole spill when you landed on this ship. Wasp coughed as he fell to the floor. He instinctively threw his arms forward and turned his head to the side to minimize any more incoming damage. "I've still got a trick up my sleeve!

"Can it, asshole." Lacer fired his auto rifle at the hunter, but his target had fallen through the floor after bashing at a loose corner of the grate he had managed to crawl toward. The only evidence of his escape was a minor flood of golden light and a loud clatter.

"Ugh. Let's go, he can't have gone too far." Ascella pulled the last knife out of her shin and stumbled toward the hole in the floor.

"Wait, don't! His signature's disappeared! I can't track where he went!" Eltanin frantically called.

"What do you mean disappeared? Did your tracking equipment break down, El?" Lacer peered down the hole. She was right. No evidence of any movement could be distinguished by his ghost.

Zahir joined Lacer at the edge of Wasp's escape route. "Wait, we've seen this before. No trace of a teleportation or transmat, this is…"

"Vex tech!" Ascella finally made it, panting as her ghost repaired the ugly, scorched wounds on her legs.

"Vex tech… this guy steals motes of dark AND uses Vex tech? This has bad written all over it. What kind of a maniac is he?" Lacer threw his head upward in frustration.

"I don't know, but we have to stop him at all costs. Eltanin, inform the Vanguard. Tell them to keep an eye out for mote heists, Vex activity, and for a hunter named-"

"Yall are still here? I told you to get the hell off of my ship as soon as you got rid of that crazy lightbearer! Scram!" Spekris angrily scolded the fireteam from over the Ketch's speakers.

"You're one to talk, you lunatic. We'll come back to kill you another time." Lacer sighed and pulled out his ghost to begin transmat, as did Zahir and Ascella.

Zahir put another pack of bread into his basket. The last pack on the shelf. Its absence created a hole through which the other aisle could be seen in the bright, fluorescent lights of the grocery store.

A peculiar figure passed by the opening. A hunter, dressed in dark blue. Though what made the sighting so peculiar was the fact that they had chosen to wear their armor in a civilian facility.

"Don't think too much of it." The exo told himself, walking over to the end of the aisle to the produce section. He dropped several apples into his basket and headed for the front of the store, where a long line of people were waiting. To pass the time, he began double checking the groceries in his basket. Bread… lettuce… salt… cough medicine...

The titan was interrupted by a man crying out, "Stop him! Stop that hunter!"

One of the employees, who had become familiar with Zahir on his repeated trips to the supermarket, tapped Zahir's elbow. "You're a guardian, right? Please, do something!"

The titan nodded and dropped his groceries, dashing outside the store. He looked up and down the street to see the same hunter he saw earlier, bolting away with a basket full of fruit.

"Hey, get back here!" Anticipating something ugly, Zahir had his ghost, Crucius, begin transmatting his armor on. As he passed through the shopping district, the hunter paid no attention to any obstructions, pushing through people and signs. As he was enveloped in his orange and black gear, Zahir began to close the gap on the rather sluggish hunter, until, eventually, he was able to tackle him to the ground. The basket, fortunately, remained upright, and only two apples fell out of the top stack of six.

The hunter struggled to turn his head at the titan, and when their faces met, he started panting and clawing at the ground. "L-let… Let me… Let me go!" His actions were unnatural. Rather than a legitimate escape attempt, Zahir felt something similar to a fish flopping around on dry land beneath him. The hunter's pleads devolved into nonsensical drivel.

"Um, is he okay?" Crucius asked, as the hunter continued to struggle uselessly. "Wait. This helmet… this guy's wanted."

Zahir immediately knocked the hunter out with a punch upon hearing Crucius. "Wanted? For what?"

"Well, petty crimes. Like shoplifting." Crucius flew around the hunter's helmet, then looked to the stunned crowd around them. "We should go. Take him to the apartment."

"The apartment? But-" Zahir stowed the hunter over his shoulder."

"Trust me, he won't be a danger to you, Zahir-2." Said a muffled female ghost's voice.

"Who said that?" Zahir looked at Crucius, then at the hunter. The voice appeared as a bulge under the hunter's cloak, and she flew to the side, revealing a plain, white-shelled ghost.

"I'm this hunter, Korne's ghost, and I've been searching for you, Zahir-2." The ghost's eye shined with conviction and excitement.


	4. Chapter 4

Zahir set the still cold hunter on the plush leather couch of his apartment. Korne's dark blue cloak flooded off of the seat and onto the floor, set dark against the bright brown carpet.

"Okay, sorry about all that. I just wanted to speak in private, and away from the police." The ghost hovered over Korne's chest.

"Do you have a name?" Zahir stood before the visitor, looking quite uncomfortable. He had brought an unstable hunter into his home, and Eltanin would be off of work soon…

"I don't." She stated flatly, taking a glance at her guardian. "Let's start at the beginning." She took a simulated deep breath, "Korne is a former student of Phoros."

Zahir immediately jolted and stepped closer. "What? He's..." The warlock that had hurt Eltanin was this hunter's master. Had he taken in that monster's ideals?

"Don't worry! It's true that he idolizes Phoros, but he's broken. His social skills, combat skills, his mind, they all deteriorated." The ghost's voice fell low, and her shell began to droop. "That's why I need your help. I looked into Phoros, and learned that he had a student before Korne."

"Eltanin. And you also learned that I became her mentor." Zahir crossed his arms and closed his eyes. Eltanin was certainly difficult after Phoros, but Korne seemed like an entirely different animal. He wasn't sure what he could do for him.

"Exactly. I need someone who understands his situation and won't throw him in jail." The ghost floated forward, looking up at Zahir.

"And if I do throw him in jail?"

"You're my best bet."

"Alright… but I'm not trusting him to behave himself in my home. Let's go somewhere else."

Zahir touched down on the calm surface of the Ishtar Sink, followed by a slouched Korne. The hunter's posture exposed most of his cape to the yellow sky of Venus. He stared at the titan cautiously, breathing heavily. His ghost had informed Zahir that he was extremely suspicious of the exo, believing that he had conspired with the Vanguard to kill Phoros. That, of course, was not true, as Phoros had been killed by Tivik, the Guardian Killer.

Zahir took one small step forward, and Korne shuffled back, reaching for the knife strapped to his thigh. "Listen, Korne. I just want to help you." He looked at the hunter, and he saw Eltanin as she was when she had been recovered from Phoros. "I know you may not understand, but you can trust me."

"You… killed my master… I finally… found… you…" Korne pointed accusatively, drawing his knife. "Won't… trust…" he raised his hands defensively, but positioned them in such a manner that his knife bearing hand was behind his other arm.

"You said he wouldn't be a danger to me." Zahir muttered to Korne's ghost, holding his hands forward in an attempt to ease the hunter.

"I did… I wasn't sure how he'd react to you specifically, though, and I REALLY needed your help. I, uh, may have had to lie a little."

"Korne, listen to me. I did not kill Phoros. It was Tivik. I'm not someone who kills other guardians." Zahir and Korne began to circle each other slowly.

Korne growled and ran forward, swinging his knife wildly. Zahir took a step back and swung his fist forward at Korne's head, sending him straight to the ground. His knife clattered by his side as his face planted into the dirt, and his ghost appeared above his back.

"Well, that could have gone better. This is not going to make things easy…" The ghost shook her shell.

"We'll find a way. I'm not sure what our end goal should be, but we'll fix him, no matter how long it takes." Zahir assured her, kneeling down to her floating height.

"Well, there's the fact that he acts hostile to you, and… how do I explain this… the Korne you see now is not the same Korne I knew before he met Phoros."

"Huh?" Zahir asked, watching as the ghost blinked out of existence to make way for the rising hunter.

"Ah… well, I'll be. Venus?" Korne stood tall, straight, unlike his slouch earlier. He spoke in a clearer and richer tone. "It's very empty. They on vacation or somethin'?" He observed, looking around the empty Fallen platforms next to the entrance of the Winter lair.

Zahir blinked his eyes, appalled. "A split-"

"No, not a split personality. That's not really the correct term for it, anyway." Korne's ghost interrupted through Zahir's helmet, as the hunter continued looking around with his hands on his hips. "It's more like his memories are fractured. He switches between… versions of himself. I don't know what Phoros did to him, because I was kept in the dark, but it's extremely messed up. I hope I haven't made you bite off more than you can chew…"

Korne strode toward the stunned exo. "Hello, titan. How goes it? It's a lovely day to look at that beautiful Venus sky without the Fallen crawling around, I suppose. Always good to take a break. These Fallen, Hive, Cabal, Vex…"

"Y-yeah. I guess it is nice to take a break every once in a while." Zahir answered, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably.

"Maybe the sands of Mars would be nice. I'd like to see what it's all about without the Cabal or a killer machine around every corner." Korne chuckled, patting at his holstered hand cannon. "That's odd." He took the dark blue gun into his hand, rapping his knuckles against the cylinder. "I could've sworn I loaded this."

Zahir's eyes drifted down to Korne's hand cannon as he reloaded it. "Mars… I guess the Buried City would be a lot calmer. The Red Legion isn't very active there."

"Red Legion? What's a Red Legion?" Korne tilted his head.

Zahir froze. How far back was this man changed? Come to think of it, he was confused as to why Venus was empty.

He sighed internally at his slip-up. He had gotten so absorbed in the conversation. There was something about past Korne that oozed charisma.

The exo looked back up, surprised to see that Korne was no longer there. Instead, he saw the hunter running away. He had already put about thirty meters between the two, and was back to his slouched posture.

"Don't worry." Korne's ghost assured, "We'll find you again."

"Zahir! You're on Venus, right? Stay right there!" Lacer called from Earth, "We've got word of where a mote stash is, and I've got some guardians that can help us!"


	5. Chapter 5

Zahir sat outside the entrance to the House of Winter's old lair, cleaning his Haake shotgun. The firearm that had served him well for so many years.

Lacer transmatted into view below him, along with four other guardians.

"Zahir!" He called out, lifting up onto the platform and stumbling down. The others followed suit. "So, been a while since you left the scout team, right? Ascella and I did some recruiting in the meantime." He held his hands out to introduce each member as they filed into view beside him.

"Meet Altair. He's probably the kindest guy I know, and a bit of a jokester too." Lacer pat the green armored hunter on the shoulder, and he nodded.

"My name's Auva-11, nice to meet you." A cross-armed warlock followed, sticking close to Altair.

Another warlock floated down beside Auva, standing up and staring at Zahir silently.

"That's Procyon… he doesn't talk much, but he's reliable." Lacer gave Procyon a playful smack on the back, to which the warlock didn't respond.

"A pleasure and a half to meet you." Altair strode forward and shook Zahir's hand.

"You too. I hope Lacer's been a good leader." Zahir shook firm.

"He definitely has, and I can only assume he learned from the best."

"Alright, enough with the introductions." Auva pulled Altair back by the cloak, and the hunter chuckled. "Are we gonna kick this guy's ass or what?" She pointed at the dark metal entrance of the lair.

"Mhm, just follow along, kid." Ascella appeared from behind her and took the lead, obviously ticking Auva off.

As the rest of the team walked forward, Lacer went over to Zahir, who stood still.

"C'mon. You coming or what? Those motes aren't getting any fresher."

Zahir took a look at what was now his scout team and sighed. "I made that team to serve the Vanguard, not to be Drifter's lackeys, but I'd rather not see whatever Wasp is up to unfold." He made sure his shotgun was loaded and followed.

They walked on and on, not finding any signs of Wasp-14 or any motes. The Fallen, long cleaned out, showed no signs of being present either.

"Sheesh. Did he find out we were coming?" Lacer looked around the lair, only lit up by the cracks and openings in the ceiling.

"Tch. How would he know that? He's obviously holed up farther down. Let's keep going." Auva retorted, picking up her pace.

As if on cue, a knife found its way into Auva's shoulder, and she began to shout curses, wrenching the knife out of her body.

"That was quick! You miss me that much?" Wasp lay relaxed on a metal beam that stretched across the ceiling above them.

"You jerk!" Auva's body flared in void energy, and she glided forward, pointing her hand cannon at the hunter and firing, but she failed to hit him from the distance she was at.

Lacer held his hand out. "Hey, stay back! We can beat him if we-"

"You brought more of your friends to even stand a chance against me! I knew you could figure it out." Wasp leaped up to avoid Auva's assault and began to move.

"Oho, that's it, you dandelion looking clown!" Lacer ran up as well, tailing Auva with his auto rifle drawn.

"Lacer, Auva! Get back here!" Ascella stepped forward, but a cylindrical machine previously unseen due to its inactivity began to flare to life. Its clear interior swirled with dark energy and created a hollow shrieking noise that pierced everyone's ears.

"Ah-ah-ah, I can deal with two, but, truth be told…" Wasp clicked a remote in his hand as he continued to evade the barrage of bullets sent his way by the furious titan and warlock below him. The cylinder rattled and shook, unsecured to the ground, and a beam of pure black shot up from its center, painting the cave roof with a starry void. A blinding, festering, jagged concentration of Taken energy expanded itself before Ascella, Zahir, Altair, and Procyon, and eventually dispersed to reveal… nothing.

"Huh?" Ascella looked left and right before being flung backward by a cloaked foot.

"Must be a taken minotaur, and a big one!" Altair blindly blasted the area Ascella had been with his auto rifle, slowly revealing the shape of a primeval. Its colossal size compared to the height of the cave forced it to crouch slightly, but it had no trouble quickly lumbering over to the fireteam, whose small arms assault proved useless in stopping its charge.

"Move!" Zahir dove aside, avoiding a smoky arm's descent. He rolled over and stood up to throw a pulse grenade at the now kneeling minotaur's upper body. It rose up and stumbled sideways, exposing itself to another assault from the fireteam, now split up around it from its previous attack.

"Keep it pinned down!" Ascella yelled, drawing a shimmering void bow and pointing her arrow at the minotaur.

Auva finally managed to grasp a metal beam, and began to pull herself up. She was, however, quickly locked into place by a knife that had found its way into her palm.

"Oh, come on!" The warlock winced through the pain and continued to pull the rest of her body up, but she was held back by Lacer, who had grabbed on to her legs. The titan took the opportunity to commence another lift, sailing above Auva and landing with difficulty keeping his balance.

"Let go of me!" Auva jabbed through gritted teeth, finally getting a chance to plant her feet on the beam.

"I just did!" Lacer ducked to avoid a shot from Wasp's sniper and fired his auto rifle back. The hunter jumped aside to another beam and used its vertical connection to the ceiling to cover himself from Lacer's attack.

Lacer turned to Auva. "Alright, plan. I'm gonna keep him busy, you go back and help them get rid of that primeval. This'll be a whole lot easier if-"

The warlock ignored his directions and glided forward to attack Wasp herself.

"...Or you can do that. Sorry, guys!"

The minotaur stomped its foot down onto a bridge, knocking Ascella and Zahir down several feet. The two were caught under a pile of supports and railings.

"Now I have you. This'll be sure to take that mockery of a light off of your face." Altair stepped toward the distracted minotaur with a flaming revolver in his hand, but the minotaur quickly cloaked, having not been attacked for a while during Altair's draw. The hunter lost visual on the primeval's eye, but he resolved to fire anyway, striking the minotaur's forearm, which melted off.

Procyon appeared behind Altair, holding a rocket launcher. He let its solar projectile fly, and it imploded against the minotaur's stomach, causing it to stagger back and crash into the cave wall. In its weakened state, it was open to another assault by Procyon and Altair, who were soon joined by Zahir and Ascella.

The minotaur's stumble caused the makeshift catwalks that Wasp had now killed Auva on to shake, and the hunter fell. Lacer held on tight, intent on reviving Auva before dropping down to face Wasp.

"I'm gonna turn you into swiss cheese as soon as she's up…" Lacer vowed, looking down on the exo.

"Seginus, extraction!" Wasp yelled, taking cover from the duo that had been fighting him, and who now had the high ground. "Extraction, you big oaf!" Wasp slammed his fist on the rock floor.

"Here!" A gravelly voice called from above, revealing a titan wreathed in arc energy, descending fast. Seginus plummeted down onto the catwalks, completely annihilating both them and the titan and warlock inhabiting them.


	6. Chapter 6

Lacer and Auva's ghosts floated in the air below the destroyed pipes, dazed from the enemy titan's sudden attack. Seginus, a titan clad in round gray armor, slowly stood up and equipped a gritty, washed SMG as he cackled dryly. He wasted no time in beginning a sprint toward the other guardians, who were preoccupied with the primeval minotaur.

"Hey, something happened to them!" Ascella pointed out, observing the wreckage after taking a leap into the air to avoid a strike from the minotaur's remaining arm. Rocks flew by her face, and she saw Wasp moving for the ghosts on the other side. "Somebody stop him! Lacer and Auva are going to die!" She cried, now in desperation.

As she landed, she was disintegrated by Seginus, who slammed into her full force with a deafening crack. He pounded his fists together and ran for Zahir next.

Procyon holstered his hand cannon and rose into the air. Trails of energy dissipated into the air behind him as he glided above Ascella to gauge the situation and avoid Seginus' assault.

"He's readying his sniper rifle. I have time." He quickly thought, observing the hunter's movements. "There's a chance he can fire a killing blow if I aim for his body. I have to go for the rifle. I can catch him off guard and disable his most lethal weapon." He thrust his arm forward, and streams of arc energy flew out of it, creating a blinding blue laser that rocketed toward Wasp's rifle.

"Hey!" Seginus charged into Procyon's legs, knocking him off balance. His chaos reach tore through the rock walls as he spun out of control, and a great amount of debris began to pepper the area in which the brawl was taking place.

Zahir sprinted up to Wasp's position, turning to Altair. "Make sure that titan doesn't kill Ascella and Procyon. I'm going after those two!" His voice was panicked as he stumbled up the incline separating him from the deadly sniper.

"Well, this is one messy pickle he's left me with." Altair observed his situation. Ascella's ghost hung in the air, doing his best to avoid the falling rocks and the minotaur. Seginus flung Procyon into a wall, and marched toward the cloud of dust the impact had left to finish him off.

"I'm gonna pound you and your ghost into powder, warlock!" The titan slammed his fists together, which sparkled with arc energy.

"Don't touch my pal, you." Altair's palm lit up, and he swung his arm in an arc, firing a shot from his golden gun that swiftly eliminated Seginus, leaving his dark orange shelled ghost floating in the air. He was reminded of his second threat as he heard the ethereal roars of the minotaur, and he turned his aim to the towering creature. Surely, they'd attacked it enough to weaken it significantly. The primeval raised its foot to stomp, but two quick shots from Altair's golden gun ensured that it never reached the ground.

"Lacer! Auva!" Zahir leapt toward the two's ghosts, taking in a surprising situation. Procyon had done it. Wasp was staring at his ruined sniper rifle, which now lacked a barrel, cursing.

"Oh, I do not like that one bit!" Wasp tossed his gun aside and brandished a trio of knives in his hand. "Don't come any closer, you! I'm gonna end these two!" He pointed at the ghosts with his other hand.

Zahir immediately ran toward the hunter. "My pulse rifle won't stop him in time." He told himself, bracing himself against the biting burn of the knives that struck his front. He continued forward and pulled up the barrel of his shotgun, to which Wasp responded by ducking to the side.

"I'm not just gonna stand there and take it!" He spat, stabbing Zahir's throat and cutting off the titan's momentum. "Face it." He leaned in close to the dying exo. "You just aren't cut out to fight someone like me."

"But us three are." Altair called out, releasing Zahir from Wasp's grasp by blasting the hunter's arm with his auto rifle, taking care not to hit the titan. He was followed by a revived Ascella and Procyon.

"Y-you…" He sputtered, diving for cover, "but Seginus-"

"Oh, must've gotten caught between a rock and a hot place." Altair shrugged, motioning for the other two to aid Zahir, Lacer, and Auva.

"Ha, ha! Very funny! You know, that sniper rifle is gonna be mind numbingly hard to replace, you asshole! Know this, next time we meet, you're going to die first." There was the sound of a transmat from behind the barricade he had been using as cover. At the same time, a smaller link fired, likely Seginus' ghost. The mote bank disappeared shortly after, ceasing its loud rumbling, and the guardians took a moment to collect themselves.

Procyon took his helmet off and wiped his sweat covered brow, shaking his long, dirty blonde hair. "What a tussle. They're as tough as you say, Lacer."

"Yeah. You know what would have killed that minotaur a lot faster? Something huge, purple, and explosive." Lacer spread his hands out to imitate an explosion, earning a whack on the head from Auva.

"Don't you even start with me!" The warlock replied hotly, crossing her arms.

"Hands off, bub." Ascella began to march toward Auva. "I know Wasp insulted you, but you can't let that get to your head, you-"

"Quit it. This is no time to fight. Investigate the area. We need all the intel we can get." Zahir spread his arms to separate Ascella and Auva, and they both turned away from each other to begin inspecting opposite sides of the room.

Zahir sighed and turned to Altair, who had been suggesting a location for Procyon to check out. "Auva. She doesn't get along well with people, does she?"

Altair chuckled lightly. "No, I guess she doesn't. You do one thing she doesn't like, and she immediately flips her prejudice switch. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm the only person she's comfortable with."

"That seems difficult. You worked with her and Procyon before joining Lacer, right?"

"Mhm. I did. Those two might be a handful, but they're my handful. I'm happy to call them my friends."

"Let's hope they can learn to fit in. Knowing Lacer and Ascella, they'll warm up eventually." Zahir placed a reassuring hand on Altair's shoulder.

"Well, that's good to hear. I'll be pushing it too. I'm most worried about Auva, though. You see, she's just a bit too proud to give in to people." He tilted his head up, lost in thought.

"Too proud, huh." Zahir instinctively looked over at Lacer. "Pride isn't easy to deal with, for sure."

"It's up to us and those we choose to surround ourselves with to lift each other up. That's what'll bring the best out of everyone. Don't worry too much about Auva. She'll mellow out eventually. She's actually a great person, and she cares about her comrades. Even Procyon." Altair walked off to inspect the location of the bank.

"Zahir! Zahir!" Lacer ran up to the exo, excitement in his voice. "I've got an idea. I know how to beat Wasp!"

"Let me hear it." Zahir turned to his friend, intrigued.

"This guy's always been fifty steps ahead of us, but we know what he's after. Motes. If we can get a ton of those, he'll have no choice but to jump it!"

"And how do we get that many motes?"

"Duh, we're gonna play gambit. I know the Drifter. I can have him hook me up with the results."

"No." Zahir stood firm, and his voice turned hard. "I'm not going to participate in Gambit."

"Dude, seriously? Just one match. Are you that unfun?" Lacer's voice grew irritated.

"I'm not going to play into the Drifter's scams. If I get on the Vanguard's bad side, I'm finished. Their operations are my only income."

Lacer squeezed his fists. "Alright. If you're gonna be a stooge and let that get in the way of this, go ahead." He turned swiftly and waved his hand dismissively.

"So be it." Zahir exited the lair first to return to the city.


	7. Chapter 7

"Oh, Zahir! You're home early." Eltanin looked up from the coffee table in the living room, which was covered by an assortment of papers.

"Yes." The exo plopped onto the couch beside her, taking a peek at what she was working on: order forms for the library she worked at. He often wondered how she felt about her work, being reduced from a guardian to a desk worker, but she seemed happy.

The Vanguard had treated him well, but as time went on, it felt more and more like a lifeline to Zahir. The whole issue with the Drifter, and his conflict with the Vanguard, had been slowly whittling away at his enthusiasm for the organization, on top of Cayde-6's death.

Zahir noticed the gaze of Eltanin, who had begun staring back, unbeknownst to him.

"Is something wrong?" She put the paper in her hands on to the side table.

"No, it's… I'm tired." Zahir put his hand over his forehead.

"I know you, Zahir. You're never tired. At least physically."

He softly smiled. Eltanin's perceptiveness never failed her. "Well, is it wrong for me not to play Gambit, even though I maybe should?"

Eltanin put her hands on her lap. "I knew this would come up. It was only a matter of time until motes came back into the picture, huh?" She looked up at the rough, beige ceiling of the apartment. "I don't think it's wrong, but you should definitely help out with the other half of their plan."

Zahir cast a confused look in her direction.

"You know," Eltanin leaned forward, "The trap? You don't have to play Gambit to prepare a trap!"

Lacer and Ascella began the long walk from the Tower hangar to the Drifter's station.

"You sure he'll let us keep a haul?" Ascella rested her head on The titan's pauldron.

"Trust me, I got this. I've been playing with the Drifter for a while." He turned to Auva, Altair, and Procyon. "We'll be right back, you three. Just stay put."

"Why can't we go with them?" Auva crossed her arms.

"Because we don't know the Drifter, Auva. Or would you like to get to know him?" Altair joked.

"No way. That rat man gives me the creeps!" The warlock hugged her sides and shuddered.

Procyon stepped forward and put his hands into the shape of a triangle.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Auva released herself and looked over at her fellow warlock in visible confusion.

"Ah, right. Motes. The trap." Altair clapped his hands together, getting the attention of both.

"We need this to look as genuine as possible. A transport ship to hold these motes heading to an odd location should do the trick. Those of us not participating in the match will hide there and jump Wasp when he gets aboard to steal our bounty." Altair made a gun with his fingers to signal the execution of the trap.

"That sounds simple enough." Auva crossed her arms as she listened to the plan. Procyon, standing across from her, nodded in approval.

"The only problem is getting a transport ship in time… Lacer said he'd try to schedule a match today." Altair rubbed his chin, "maybe I'll ask him to reschedule."

"You won't have to do any of that." A voice declared from behind.

Auva, Altair, and Procyon turned to see Zahir, fully armored and looking at a large junker floating in the runway behind them.

"This was my friend's ship, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind us using it for something like this."

The rogue lightbearer tossed a coin into the air, looked over at the approaching guardians coming in from the annex, and tilted his head to let the coin slip into his bandana.

"Evening, Drifter fans! Whatcha got for me today?"

"Hey man, we have a request, if you don't mind." Lacer waved and put his hand on the railing that stood between them and the mote bank in the corner of the room, not unlike the one that had been used against the team earlier.

"Well, I've got all day, uh…" Drifter waved his finger in Lacer's direction and scrunched his face.

"Lacer. You don't remember me?"

"Of course I remember ya! I was just thinkin' a bit too hard before you came here is all."

"Oh, haha! Makes sense." Lacer rubbed the back of his helmet.

"He totally thinks you're a loser." Ascella thought, watching the exchange.

"Anyway," Lacer spread out his hands. "We need motes, and a lot of them. You know that guy that's been running around stealing hauls?"

"Of course I do, brother. I want that punk dead as much as you, but you'll have to earn 'em. He ain't no big spook to me until I see something real bad, y'know?"

"I thought you'd say that. When's the soonest match we can sign up for?"

"Depends." Drifter flicked two coins from his wrists into each of his hands. "You lookin' for Gambit, or my fresh new scam, Gambit Prime? Prime goes by a lot faster, just sayin'."

Ascella turned to Drifter and finally spoke. "You said prime is faster? We'll do prime!"

"No way!" Lacer held his hands out. "We need a huge haul! A monster haul! A haul so big-"

"We don't have time, babe." Ascella put her hands on the titan's shoulders. "Trust me."

"Like hell, we're doing classic. Big wins, big hauls. I'm just saying, we have a better shot at this if we have more motes."

"And I'M saying the sooner we stop Wasp, the better!"

"Well, brother, sister, looks like you're going with…" Drifter tossed a jade coin into the air and caught it with his left hand.

Lacer turned back to look. "You're deciding on a coin toss? Who said you could-"

He flashed the coin under his thumb. "Gambit prime! I'll get you signed up." The rogue lightbearer announced slyly, walking away to begin scheduling. "My game, my rules, brother."


	8. Chapter 8

"Alright, so who's playing Gambit?" Lacer looked over his team. An enthusiastic hunter, a stoic titan, a silent warlock, a laid back hunter, and an annoyed warlock looked back at him in anticipation.

"I'm going to set up the trap." Zahir pointed back at the large junker floating behind him.

"Pick me!" Ascella waved her hand in the air.

"Right, Ascella's gonna handle the hordes with her shadowshot."

"I think Altair would be key to have on the team. You're killing huge taken, right? A great shot with a golden gun would be ideal, and he's standing right in front of us." Zahir looked over at the other hunter.

"Right you are, Zahir, and I'm pleased as punch to be of help." Altair put his hands on his hips.

"That leaves the warlocks." Zahir turned his head to an inattentive Procyon and an eager Auva.

"Oh! Pick me! I can back up Altair!" Auva ran up to the hunter and hugged his arm.

"Actually, I've been sniping some rumors, and I think a stormcaller would do better for us. Lots of Hive, and that means arc shields." Lacer pointed at Procyon, who nodded in response.

"Oh, no you don't!" Auva sped over and shoved Procyon in the chest. "I'm doing this. Me."

"Hey, lay off! It's a tactical decision, nothing personal!" Lacer moved to confront Auva, but she whipped around and smacked him with her arm.

"Hands off, jerk! You don't understand!" Auva's voice grew louder.

"No, maybe he doesn't, but I think I understand." Altair stepped between the two. "I think you're a little jealous, Auva."

"Understatement of the year." Lacer snorted.

"Wha… what?" Auva stared at Altair in disbelief. She had been used to him telling her exactly what she wanted to hear. That's what she admired so much about him.

"You see, the heart of a lady is a mysterious thing, but I've noticed that, from the day you two… us three met, you've been seeing Procyon from all the wrong angles." Altair checked on Procyon, who continued to stand silent. The hunter smiled warmly under his mask.

"Angles? What are you trying to say?" Auva's voice shrunk.

"Auva, I know that you trust me a great deal. In fact, I may be the only person you trust, so take it from me. Procyon is a good person, but you don't see that. You only see a… a silent, intrusive individual. You just need to give him a chance. Why do you think he pushed you out of the way of those Vex at the citadel the day we met?"

"Because he's stupid, and thought I couldn't handle a few tin cans!" Auva clenched her fists in anger.

"But, that didn't really matter in the end, did it? What would you have gained by defeating those Vex there?"

"I…"

"Try to see it from his perspective. You were going to get hurt, so Procyon drove you out of harm's way. He's a good person, he's just not good at backing himself up on the fact."

"Well, that's his problem." Auva dropped her head, still clenching her fists. "Least he could do is talk more."

"It is not! He's not perfect, but his intentions are pure, aren't they? You can't deny that, and he's come such a long way, hasn't he? Notice how quickly he spoke to me, and how quickly he spoke to our new friends. He felt at ease, but he didn't feel comfortable with you, because you met him with hostility."

"He's… he's difficult." Auva shook her head.

"Ouch. He's right there, you know." Lacer stuck his thumb at Procyon.

"I understand you're frustrated, but I give him attention because he requires it more than you. He suffers in solidarity, and you've seen the effects of it. You can take care of yourself, Auva, so go. Prepare a trap that'll make Wasp shake in his boots!" Altair clenched his fist and pumped it in the air.

Auva stepped back, avoiding eye contact with any of the guardians in front of her waning view. "You don't… are you saying I'm…"

"Take your time." Altair put his hand on her shoulder. "Just take a minute to sort out your feelings."

"I… I don't… you know what? I'm going to do it! I'm going to set up a trap so good, Wasp won't even know what hit him until he's dead!" Auva sped off toward the hangar. "I'm saying he'll be killed instantly!" She yelled, after disappearing down the first set of stairs.

"Yeah, she's got issues." Lacer knocked on his helmet. "Anyway, come on, boys, we've got motes to win."

"All right, mavericks!" Drifter tossed a jade coin into the air. The cool blue lights of the Derelict's interior reflected off of it and all around the room, casting beams on the two opposing teams. On one side stood Lacer, Ascella, Altair, and Procyon. On the other stood a hunter dressed in green, two warlocks slowly attempting to high-five, and another firm looking hunter.

"Ready to see what you're fighting today?" He flipped up a coin with a Hive symbol etched into its face. "Hive! Bring a sword."

Ascella flashed her Hagakure on cue, a weapon she'd received as a gift from Zahir after his time on Mars. Lacer loaded a fresh magazine into his pearly white SUROS sniper rifle. Beside him, Altair went over a Gambit rulebook with Procyon, who listened attentively.

The Drifter strode easily out onto the railing overlooking the two teams. "Ever wonder how practical a Thrall's big ol' claws would be as a weapon? Let me know, 'cause they disintegrate too fast."

Ascella looked at Lacer quizzically, who simply laughed in response.

"Transmat firing!"

And with that, the team was transported to the Emerald Coast. A lush enclosed area of the EDZ filled with ruined buildings.

"Get to the trees, that's where they're coming from!" Lacer pointed to his left, prompting the others to follow him. He threw a magnetic grenade to engage, and it latched on to a Hive acolyte. It recoiled in surprise, and the device exploded twice, flinging its comrades into the air around it.

Ascella slashed a Hive knight's torso with her sword, causing it to stagger. "Let's go, people. Remember why we're doing this!"


	9. Chapter 9

"You're losing motes, brother! Whack those blockers!" Drifter's voice blared into Lacer's helmet, who begrudgingly looked over at the bank. It was swarming with taken of varying ranks, all lumbering around and ready for a battle.

Lacer peered at the silent chaos through the scope of his sniper rifle. "Hey, can someone drop a nuke on our bank? This is getting ridiculous."

"No can do! We've got some big old ogres here at the ruins! Woohoo!" Ascella's message was followed by the thunderous, pained roars of a Hive beast.

Lacer cursed and looked back at the bank, which now housed a glimmer of hope. A purple rectangle on a brick column. He could load his machine gun and take out a good chunk of the blockers.

"You're being invaded! Hope you're not counting on me to watch your back! I am, but I ain't no snitch." Drifter remarked, but Lacer was determined to get the heavy ammo before him. He slammed his hand on the wall, allowing his ghost to synthesize ammo for his machine gun.

"There we go! I'm estimating that these blockers are going to the lowest circle of hell there is-" Lacer was cut short by a sniper rifle round to the throat.

"Lacer! The invader's at the beach!" Ascella cried, to which Lacer would have liked to respond sarcastically if not for his wound. Another round struck his head, and he was down.

"I've got you!" Altair leaped into the air above the beach, throwing his hand into the air to cast his golden gun. He pointed at a rock, upon which stood a fellow hunter dressed in green. They quickly pointed up at Altair, striking his outstretched torso with a sniper bullet. Altair fired back, but his aim was thrown off by the attack.

"I'm not going down that easy, friend!" Altair whipped forward with all of his strength and slammed the hammer of his light, sending five rapid shots streaking down toward the hunter. There was the crack of a sniper, and the hunter was melted away by solar light.

"Whoo! That's a duel I'll be telling stories about with my friends-to-be-enemies!" Drifter laughed.

"Procyon's down!" Ascella yelled. Altair to looked over to the ruins immediately. Ascella expertly fought off multiple knights with her sword, but she wouldn't make up for their lack of firepower for long.

"Drat. That hunter must have gotten our man before I killed him." Altair landed and began sprinting for the ruins. The wispy disintegrating corpse of a taken phalanx crashed into the ground on the side of his path. Its gurrutal roars dissipated into the air, polluted by the noise of heavy gunfire in the distance. He looked up to his left to see Lacer mowing through the mass of blockers in his path, wrapped lovingly by a barrier of void energy. A purple lake in a sea of black flames.

"That's the last of 'em!" Lacer eliminated the last blocker with a satisfying crack from his fist. The bank behind him beeped and groaned as it slid back up from the ground.

"Bank those motes! C'mon!" Lacer waved at his team from the bank. Procyon came speeding forward in response, filled to the brim with motes of dark.

"Attaboy! Let's go!" Lacer clenched his fist and ran forward. "Swapping positions!"

Drifter reassuringly commented on the successful bank as Lacer ran for the forest. "Large blocker to the other side! Give 'em a taste of their own medicine. Careful, though, enemy team's got their primeval, and you're still at eighty four motes!" A taken knight and two captains warped on top of the bank, but they were met with the full force of Lacer's team, motes in hand.

Zahir pushed a locker across the cold grey floor of the junker. The weapons inside rattled, and metal on metal screeched.

"That's loud!" Auva covered her ears, crying out from the west hall.

"Sorry." He slid the container against a wall, revealing a sizable indent next to it. "That's going to be my hiding spot."

"I have mine! The ceiling's really loose here." He heard a thud as Auva dropped to the floor from her selected location.

"Then we wait." Zahir walked out of the East hall and sat in the living space between the hallways and the cockpit. Auva reluctantly joined, finding a spot on a torn chair.

"So… whose ship is this? Because someone definitely lives in this pigsty." She looked around at the various neon adornments and collectibles on the walls. "Seriously. What a mess."

"This was my friend Kale's." Zahir reached down at the coffee table between them and picked up a faded and folded photo of Eltanin. Kale had always been a "big fan" of her.

"Oh? What happened then? He realize how much of a dump this place is?"

"...No."

"Oh."

Auva looked around nervously as Zahir stayed bent over the table. "Sh-shit, I… uh…"

"It's alright." Zahir stood up and walked to the cockpit.

"...Sorry." Auva slowly walked back to her hallway, a mixed expression on her face. She no longer viewed the arid grey walls with contempt.

"Lacer." Zahir spoke into a communications unit in the cockpit, "How is the match going?"

"Not well at all! This is the worst!" Lacer yelled, firing his auto rifle at the festering mass of dark energy in the shape of a colossal knight before him. The primeval roared, spitting a cluster of spiralling flames at the team.

"How are we supposed to make use of this empowering field if that jerk exists to do this?" Ascella leapt away from the flames and below the archway she had been attacking from.

"You're being invaded! Get 'em before your day's ruined!" Drifter relayed excitedly. The crack of a sniper rifle tore through the air twice, and both Altair and Lacer fell dead.

"He's going for those of us that can counter his sniper first!" Ascella drew her scout rifle and aimed in the direction of the vapor trails, but she was struck down immediately.

Procyon stared at the floating ghosts of his comrades and remained calm. The shots had come from the forest, and he had generous amounts of cover in the ruins. He thrust his hand forward and sent a ball of lightning at the forest, then immediately began running left, toward a doorway that led straight to the trees. He emerged and spotted the green clad hunter on a hill, aiming toward the area that Procyon had thrown his ball lightning from.

He smiled slightly at his moment of triumph and leapt up, siphoning arc energy once again into the palm of his hand. He shot his arm toward the hunter, and a stream of lightning soon bloomed into a large beam of light that tore at the hillside.

He couldn't see the damage, but didn't need to, as Drifter clamored in his helmet. "Whoo! You burnt him to a crisp!"

"Good stuff, man!" Lacer returned to the battlefield alongside the others.

"You're behind, but don't let that stop ya! I want a good show!" Drifter roared over the comms, spurring the team into action.


	10. Chapter 10

Lacer strolled into the Drifter's spot in the annex of the tower. The rogue lightbearer leaned on the railing behind him like it was a throne, and the swirling bank behind him threw his shadow onto the titan in waves.

"Hey, hotshot." Drifter flipped a coin into the air and kicked it into a pocket of his duster.

"Give us the motes." Lacer stood mere feet from the Drifter, towering over him.

"Woah! Sure, kid, let me just…" he pulled out a datapad, "Oh, right. You see that there? That's a big fat loss!" He flipped the pad around to show the detailed rundown of their match. "Deal's off."

"Come on, man. You know me. I'll owe you."

"Owe me? Ha! I ain't taking that. You know why?"

"...Why?"

"'Cause you take after me, and I wouldn't trust anybody that thinks like myself." Drifter leaned forward and rapped Lacer's helmet with his knuckles before returning back to his lean.

"Okay, then how about a trade?"

"For an entire haul of motes? Brother, you've gotta have something big." Drifter rubbed his pointer and middle fingers against his thumb.

"Yeah, I'll give you some glimmer, and… how about I tell you a secret?"

"Is it a place where I can find a haul of motes? I'm not interested if that ain't the case."

"That wouldn't make… oh, okay. Um, no. It's a personal secret."

"You piss yourself at a public pool? Accidentally crash a rental ship?"

"...No. It's something I haven't told anyone. Not even-"

"Get rejected so hard you had to change your identity?"

"No!" Lacer threw his arms up in frustration. "Just… hear me out. You'll definitely like what you'll hear."

"Alright, I better."

"I know you. You will."

"I thought you lost." Zahir watched as a large shipment of motes was loaded into the cargo bay between the back halls of the junker.

"We did, but I struck a deal with Drifter." Lacer transmatted into the East hall beside Altair. He motioned the hunter over to the living area of the ship, "Come on. We're hiding there."

"Aye, captain. You'd better get in position too, Zahir." Altair found a plush red couch and slipped into a space behind it.

"Alright. The frame in place?" Lacer looked to the cockpit of the ship.

"Yes. It's all set up." Zahir had to barter with Lord Shaxx, who was completely unfamiliar with the titan who had never set foot into the Crucible. His glimmer earnings from his past two Vanguard patrols was sufficient, though. With some help from a tower mechanic, he had been able to program the redjack to autopilot the ship. Should Wasp invade, he would have to enter the cockpit and eliminate the assumed pilot to gain access to the cargo bay, which had no interior doors.

"I haven't heard from Auva. She here?" Altair stepped out to the West hall to see Auva leaning against a wall, rubbing her arm. "What's keeping you down, champ?"

"I, uh… I guess I'm…" She shifted over to face away from Altair. "Kinda scared, 'cause, uh, this Wasp guy's kicked our asses before, and we've gotta be careful not to make a mess of this ship."

Zahir caught wind of the conversation and moved in behind Altair. "Don't worry about that. Mess this ship up all you want. As long as we catch Wasp, it's worth it."

"We'll get him, Auva. We're finally one step ahead of him." Altair assured, heading back to his hiding spot. Auva nodded and glided up into the ceiling, and Zahir returned to the West hall.

"Hey, a ship's approaching. Look alive!" Ascella relayed to the four on the ship. The sound of a transmat going off in the living space followed.

Altair peeked out from behind the couch. The ship's lights flickered out at the same time, and an ominous silence filled the room. In the middle of the living space stood a cloaked figure.

"There he is." Altair thought, ready to summon his golden gun. The figure slowly moved forward, footsteps slowly echoing on the ground. It was approaching the West hall, rather than the cockpit. As it entered the middle of the hall, there was a yell and a crash.

"What the hell?" Lacer popped out from his cover and rushed over. From Altair's point of view, he disappeared behind the corner leading to the hallway and produced a similar result.

"What's going on? Lacer? Auva?" Zahir had come out of hiding as well and met a similar fate to the two before him.

At this point, Altair had leaped over the couch and took a peek around the corner. He saw the hooded figure standing among the three guardians, struggling on the floor. There were no binds on their limbs. It was as if an extremely heavy weight had been cast upon them.

"Don't… get… close…" Zahir struggled to speak, as even his face was suffering under the pull. Faint void energy occasionally came off of them in wisps, always drifting downward.

"I don't plan on it. I'm saving you three." Altair whipped his hand down, and his golden gun lit up the dark interior of the ship.


	11. Chapter 11

Altair quickly fanned the hammer of his golden gun. Three streaks of orange light annihilated the figure under the cloak. However, instead of dissipating into ash and leaving a ghost behind, whatever was under the garment exploded in a violent flash, killing the nearby guardians instantly. Altair was thrown backward and collided with a minifridge. It toppled over, and he landed on it belly first. Two energy drinks rolled out of its forced open door.

"You guys!" Altair ran for the hall again, but he heard the sound of a transmat behind him as he approached the ghost, causing him to turn cold.

"I feel sorry for those like you." A dead, gravelly voice snaked into his ears, and Altair felt a crushing weight come over his body. "You who put the lives of others before yourself. They will all die in the end, no?" Altair felt a rib crack as he was forced to the ground. He saw the menacing red glow of a Vex eye hover in front of him through the shut off lights of the ship, attached to him by something out of his vision. Ribbons of void energy flowed off of the arm in front of him.

"Wha...what…" Altair attempted to move his hand closer for further inspection, but it was like trying to move a heavy boulder.

"Cease your struggling. I can tell you're a noble one, so I'll make your suffering brief. Your ghost, too." The voice grew closer as the figure knelt.

"I'm going to protect them from this monster…" Altair thought as he looked up at the ghosts floating before him. "How this is even possible, I don't know, but… I have to do something…" With the last of his strength, he lunged forward and took hold of Lacer's ghost.

"A useless gesture. Pathetic. I will keep my promise to you, however." Altair felt a wide barrel press against his back.

"At all costs…" Altair heard the ear-splitting blast of a shotgun go off, and everything went dark.

"What in the world happened?" Lacer's eyes fluttered open to a horrifying sight. Altair's mangled corpse before him, and a warlock holding the hunter's ghost.

"No, stop…" As strength surged into his reviving body, he scrambled to stand up, but it was too late. The warlock took a jagged blade and skewered the ghost with it. Its mechanical eye flickered out instantly, and the warlock cast the shell aside like a piece of litter. He watched, horrified, as it clattered to the ground beside its guardian.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Lacer roared and charged the warlock, but in the darkness, he was outmaneuvered. The warlock thrust his hand forward, and Lacer felt a cold pain enter his chest, spreading.

"I am giving him peace. This man whose intentions were too pure for this world." The sounds of Zahir and Auva's ghosts bringing them back flared behind him, and the warlock stepped away, taking the knife out.

Lacer dropped to his knees, coughing, as his teammates ran for the infiltrator. "Don't screw with me. He's not dead."

Zahir fired his shotgun at the mysterious warlock, who disappeared and reappeared in a fizzle of Vex particles to dodge the blast in perfect time.

"I must ask. Why do you meddle? Is it truly worth it? You who would invest so much into organizations and people who will all shrivel." He scoffed and teleported again, but did not reappear.

"Where'd he go? I'm gonna get him back for making me go through that…" Auva clenched her fist. A rumble from between the hallways caught her attention.

"He has the motes! The entire cargo area of the ship was ripped away!" Ascella yelled over comms.

"After him!" Zahir looked over to the cockpit, and he quickly realized the fate that had befallen the pilot frame. The door had been opened, and he couldn't see any indication of the frame still being in the seat.

"No, we can't chase him. We've already lost." Lacer said hoarsely, kneeling over Altair and his ghost's bodies.

Auva ran over, wide-eyed. "What did he do to Altair?!" She bent down and gripped the hunter's shoulders. A large, messy, gaping hole was bored into the hunter's chest. "Altair! Wake up! What are you lazing around for?!" She began to shake the body.

"Auva." Zahir touched Auva's shoulder, and she sucked in a sharp breath. "I'm sorry."

Lacer grimaced in anguish as he looked over the body of his fallen comrade. He had not known Altair for even a year, but the hunter's relaxed and helpful disposition never failed to make him feel warm.

"Altair…" Auva's voice trailed off. "Why aren't you moving?" Her eyes finally trailed to his ghost, which had been nearly sliced in two.

"He saved us. If he hadn't given me his light, I wouldn't have woken up in time to fend off that warlock." Lacer stood up and looked at the back halls of the ship.

Auva clenched her teeth under her helmet and shoved Lacer back into a wall before running past him and transmatting away. He remained there, leaning awkwardly into the hull.

"This is my fault, man. I shouldn't've ever had this stupid idea. I got someone killed." Lacer put his hands on his knees and he slid down the wall.

"It's not. You couldn't have known that someone so powerful would come after us." Zahir sent his ghost to begin transmatting Altair and his own away.

"I-" Lacer's legs buckled and he doubled over, breathing heavily as he clutched his chest.

"What's wrong?"

"I… I'm fine." Lacer felt a biting cold stab at his lungs. His ghost had healed the stab wound, so why did this pain linger?

"He got away with the motes. I don't know what we're going to do now."

Ascella, her voice somber, came back through the communications unit of the ship. "I think Auva knows. She's chasing straight after something, and… uh… I lost her. She jumped."

"What!?" Lacer scrambled up. "What is she thinking?"

Auva chased the fleeting signature on her navigations with laser focused intent. A call from one of her teammates, she didn't care who, came up on her ship's display. She dismissed it and continued on, eyes narrowed.

"I'll kill you, you snake." She disengaged her jump, and the celestial body that was the harsh orange atmosphere of Venus filled the windshield.

From the observation unit in the tower he was manning alongside Ascella, Procyon looked up to the milky blue skies and clenched his fist. The only thing on his mind was the death of his friend and mentor. All other noise that could fill his ears, eyes, and mind drowned out.


	12. Chapter 12

"Where are you?!" Auva snarled, looking around the vast ravine wildly, where a Vex signature had led her. Her voice echoed off of the stone and Vex structures squeezing her landscape.

"Come out, coward! If you're here, I'll disintegrate you! You didn't give Altair a fair fight, so I won't give you one either!" She stomped at the ground, and it trembled. Her breath grew scattered, scratching at the air around her as she squeezed her fingers tight.

She sensed a voice, and immediately turned around.

Nothing.

"Wait, did I hear that, or see it…" She looked all around her, but all she saw were the claustrophobic yet tall confines of the space she had wandered into.

=You are suffering.=

She saw Altair standing on a ledge far above her and reached up immediately.

=You are seeking revenge. Will that make you feel better?=

Altair's shape quickly turned black and yellow, now resembling Wasp, and the warlock's teeth clenched.

"Yes." She answered, unwilling to question the strange illusory visage before her, or the odd and unfamiliar text-voice calling to her.

She went through the motions she had countless times before and thrust her anguish at the hunter on the ledge. Her nova bomb annihilated the space the hunter had once occupied, but her anger did not have time to wane. Two feet dropped onto the ground behind her.

"There you are!" Her hand flared purple once more against the abyss, and she struck Wasp in the chest. He was launched into a wall and struggled to regain his composure as the furious beast thundered toward him.

=End it. Indulge yourself. It will feel good, won't it?=

In a haze, Auva eliminated Wasp swiftly and took hold of his ghost, which did nothing as she pulled it up slowly. She started into its static eye, and it started back.

Auva clenched her teeth and trembled in a controlled rage. She felt cheated. "I… don't want him right now, I want his boss."

=Wasp hurt your pride.=

"And this warlock killed Altair! Listen, you text-voice creep, you're horrible!" Her legs quivered. "Everything is horrible… I can't ever have what I want… I can't even have Altair right now. Is that too much to ask?!" She threw the ghost at the ground, and it disappeared before it could make any noise.

"What's going on?!" She put her hands to her head and screamed in outrage and confusion. "I need Altair… he always knew how to make me feel better…"

She heard slow footsteps from behind, and she froze. The footsteps stopped, and everything went silent.

Curious, she slowly turned her head to meet Procyon.

"Wha… why did you… no, you're not real. Go away!" She picked up a pebble and flung it at Procyon as she would a nova bomb. It bounced off of his torso and clattered to the floor.

Procyon looked at his teammate before him. Vulnerable. Broken. He figured the mysterious warlock that attacked them would flee to Venus, but he was shocked to find Auva here, at the same Vex signature he detected.

"Well? If you're finally going to say something, spit it out!" Auva turned back around.

"I need him too." Procyon's flat voice rang through Auva's ears. "But… we can't have what we want."

Auva curled her hands into fists and looked down at the empty ground where she had thrown Wasp's ghost.

Procyon continued cautiously, trying not to twist his own tongue. The mere act of speaking exhausted him. "Altair is gone, but you would betray his memory by continuing to act like this. We have a job to do."

"I can't do it! This job is horrible! I would have been better off never meeting any of you!"

"I understand. You're upset at the world."

Auva froze again. Nobody had ever said anything like that to her, not even Altair.

"I'm upset too. I wish things were different, and I'm upset that I can't do anything about it."

Auva felt an odd connection to what her fellow warlock was saying. She wanted to ask him to shut up. To quit spouting nonsense just because he had found her in such a weak position, but she couldn't.

Procyon stepped forward. "A lot of things go wrong, but cheap comfort is temporary. We need to move on"

Auva finally turned around to face Procyon. She kept her helmet on, but it was probably for the better.

"Y-yeah… nobody's ever…"

Procyon extended his hand. "Come back. Let's make things right. None of us can defeat that warlock alone."

"The boss has got a name, you know!" A familiar titan's voice boomed from above. The two warlocks looked up to see Seginus looking down on the two with his arms crossed. "Crybaby hours are over! Me and Wasp are going to be filthy rich after I kill you!" He plummeted down, covered in arc energy, narrowly missing Auva and Procyon with an earth shattering fist of havoc.

"I knew it." Auva slung her auto rifle off of her back. "You two aren't crazy, you're just lackeys. You'll do anything for a slop bucket of glimmer."

The battle ended within minutes. Auva revived Procyon and approached Seginus' ghost, through destroyed and shattered terrain that hummed in conflict with arc and void energy.

"W-Wait wait wait! Don't kill m-" His ghost started flying away frantically, but Auva snatched it by its smooth deep blue shell.

"I don't have even a shred of pity for you, but you're more use to us locked up." The warlock restrained the ghost properly.

"Heh. Guess you figured it out, then. To be honest, I'd float away the moment I got my chance, so good on you." The ghost remarked, stiff in its binds.

"Tell me. Who pays Seginus and Wasp to do these things?"

"You think I'll tell ya? There's nothin' you can do to make me talk, but there's a hell of a lot that HE can do to me."

Auva and Procyon looked at eachother, uneased.

"Mark my words, you're gonna pay for this. He needs us to do his dirty work. When he finds out you caught me in this stupid rubber band and trashed Seginus, he'll-"

Auva transmatted the chatterbox ghost away, breathing a sigh of fatigue. She looked over at Procyon with a sad but invigorated look on her face.

"Let's get going. We're gonna put this ghost in jail and take down this mysterious prick."

Procyon nodded in response, and the two left Venus.


	13. Chapter 13

"And… decrypted." Crucius shut his eye beam off, and Zahir held the datapad closer to his face. The same datapad he had found on Altair's corpse. "A lot of the information on here has been remotely purged. Only the contents of the local drive remain."

"Damn the cloud." The exo remarked as he began skimming the files.

-Log 5. Subject: Korne and Altair

-Writer: Arcturus

-The=

The text on the screen began to fizzle out, and an ominous voice that sounded like the roar of a minotaur if put to practice blared from the datapad.

"I see you were foolish enough to try to access my files."

Zahir jolted back. "What's the meaning of this? Why are Korne and Altair's names together? You… Arcturus… how do you know them?" Zahir yelled at the tablet, not noticing a small Vex eye sprouting from the bottom of one of its edges.

"I have no reason to tell you anything, fool."

Zahir stared at the blank screen for what seemed like hours, unable to come up with a response. There were a lot of things he wanted to know, but the single sentence from Arcturus had killed any momentum he had in the conversation.

"Would you like me to explain something at the least, then? Very well. Listen closely. That hunter, Korne. He can be fixed." Arcturus explained, sounding quite bored.

"What?"

"He can be fixed. Are you aware of how he is split in time? There is a way out. The root of his identity crisis lies in his memory. So the only way to repair his mind…"

"Is to wipe his memories."

"Smart man." Arcturus praised sarcastically, "He will be made anew and return to life as he had it before. I am sure his ghost would be quite pleased as well. That poor creature has to live with a braindead idiot half the time he is awake."

"Wouldn't that be… killing him? Taking his memories?" Zahir's hope was sunken immediately. He should have known that good news would arrive with a dilemma in tow.

"Precisely! You would never kill your fellow man, correct?" Laughter came from the device. A sick, hoarse laugh.

"I wouldn't." He replied instantly.

"Yes! You wouldn't! I knew I could count on you to make the right choice. You… people like you make such harsh choices in the pursuit of peace. Tell me… wouldn't you like a world free of the pain that arrives from choices like this? You are angry at the fact that there is no better solution. What if I told you that I pursue a world in which these things don't happen?"

Zahir went silent again, holding the datapad. Surely, leaving Korne as he was was the better of the two choices he was presented with. But what did Arcturus mean? A world without conflict? No pain?

"Very well. I will leave you with that." A vex eye peered at Zahir from behind the device, and the titan immediately threw it against the wall of his apartment, shattering it into pieces.

"What a mess…" The titan sighed as he began to clean up.

Korne looked up at the sky as Io's mountainous volcanic vents blew smoke into the atmosphere, unfailing to be dominated by the presence of Jupiter. The sight meant nothing to him.

"Hey, hunter." A voice behind him called. The hunched guardian turned to meet a titan in bright blue armor. "I need a couple pieces o' spinmetal. You got any?"

Korne looked the titan up and down. "Spin… spin?"

"Spinmetal. You know, twisty silver stuff you find in the Cosmodrome. Don't tell me ya don't have any. I mean, I don't, but it's 'cause I used all mine"

Korne tilted his head in confusion, unable to comprehend the flurry of words thrown at his ears.

"Hey, you listening? Don't you ignore me." The titan grabbed Korne by the cloak and turned the now distracted hunter to face him. "Spinmetal. Hand it over. Unless you're too stupid to access your vault."

Korne, now frightened, put his hand to his belt. "D-don't… let go… let go!" His voice grew into a snarl as he finished his sentence

The titan saw Korne draw his knife and sent his fist into the hunter's head in immediate retaliation. He stormed off as Korne hit the ground, mumbling and cursing to himself. He soon disappeared into the distance on his sparrow.

"Korne!" His ghost fluttered down to the side of his head. "Are you alright? I'm sorry I couldn't help you, I was-"

"Oh, what's going on? The ground isn't a place I should be sniffing." The hunter chuckled, standing upright. His back was no longer slouched, and his voice was more coherent.

"Oh." The ghost straightened herself up. "Hello, Korne."

"And hello to you, too, ghost. What happened? You run away?"

"No, it's… never mind. Is there anything you want to do while we're here?"

"I, erm… ghost, where exactly are we?" He looked around the cold green landscape. "This definitely isn't Earth."

"Oh! Uh… this is Io, a moon of Jupiter. They don't talk about it much, but the warlocks use this place to study, because it was the last place the Traveler touched." She frantically explained. Korne had been altered before even the Taken War, so this version of himself would be unfamiliar with both Io and…

"What are those things?" Korne looked down at a patrolling mob of Taken. A shadowy phalanx and pair of thrall roamed around the base of a dead tree, spraying their guttural moans into the air.

"I… don't know? I've never seen anything like them." She lied, as her companion slid down the hill they stood on to get closer.

"They look familiar, aside for their pitch blackness. And those glowing eyes. Look at them!" He leaned in close to get a good look, but the phalanx took notice and flipped its shield forward. Korne looked into the gash of its protection, and he was launched back into the hill by a burst of energy.

"Now that is a surprise. Never seen a phalanx pull that number on me!" Korne drew his hand cannon and stood up.

"Alrighty, let's get down to business!" He pulled the trigger, but no bullet exited the chamber. "Huh. Not loaded?"

"Oh no." His ghost thought, monitoring his helmet feed, "The other Korne always forgets to reload…"

Unable to withstand the onslaught of arc slugs and fiery claws, Korne ducked behind a rock for cover. "Three targets? That's no problem for me, then." His hand ignited in solar energy, and the flames began to spread to his hand cannon. He thrust himself into the air, soaring high above the two thrall climbing over his cover, and eliminated them with ease. As they were reduced to ashes behind them, he aimed a third shot at the phalanx, but it raised its shield once again to block his golden gun. As his shot was absorbed harmlessly by the small void before him, the phalanx roared and bashed him aside with its shield.

"Not an issue." Korne let out as he tumbled across the ground, "now you're open, my friend!" He threw a knife he had drawn earlier at the shadowy beast, and it sailed right into its head as it struggled to move its shield in the direction of its adversary. It screamed as its body was pulled into a pinpoint of nothingness, and its shield and slug rifle clattered to the ground. By the time Korne had stood up and dusted himself off, the armaments too dissipated into nothing.

"My, my. What a brawl!" Korne fished out his hand cannon to finally begin reloading it. He gently flipped out its bright blue cylinder and reached into his pocket.

"You're… okay?" The ghost asked. Normally, when Korne saw something out of his own time, he'd revert.

"Am I okay? Well, anything I've taken, you can heal, if that's what you're asking." He replied warmly as he holstered his newly reloaded gun.

His ghost breathed a metaphorical sigh of relief. Perhaps she could spend a little more time than usual with Korne…

"You know," he turned to face the great expanse of the Lost Oasis before him, "this sky is beautiful. More than anything I've ever seen." He bent his knees and took a seat on the ground.

"Yeah… it is." The ghost agreed, floating alongside him. She took in the brilliant view above them. The cool colors of the landscape and sky of Io clashed with the imposing yet calm gas giant in the distance.

Perhaps she could live with both Kornes.


	14. Chapter 14

In an unknown location, Arcturus strolled around a well-lit underground lair. His dark blue robes fluttered above the floor as he approached a large Vex frame resembling a hydra, but heavily modified with two long arms and a diamond shaped head. It was suspended in the air by multiple bronze claws.

"Damocles." He spread his hands out before the chassis. "We are so close to accomplishing our goal." He looked behind him, at the rows of stolen mote banks and piles of their contents conveniently out of view of the Vex chassis.

The thought-voice responded instantly.

=I lack something. This chassis cannot be manipulated with our current equipment. Track down this sister mind of mine. We will dub it Damocles to hide my identity.=

"Hide your identity? Ah, I see. When this sister mind is dealt with, your name will go with it."

Arcturus fired up a communicator as he returned to the hallway of mote banks.

"Be on your a-game, fellas! Wasp's around here!" Lacer combed through the dense red Nessus foliage in his path. Zahir walked straight through the leaves, followed by Ascella, who cut the branches with her knife for Procyon and Auva to pass through easily. They broke through the forest and were met with a large bowl shaped indent in the ground set against a corner of two towering stone walls. Vex marched upon the center of the indent in waves, which housed a large hydra. It ferociously launched its torch hammers at Wasp-14, who weaved through them and the countless slap rifle bullets with ease.

"Hey!" Auva yelled to get the hunter's attention, but only drew the fire of several goblins.

"I'm itching to teach this guy a lesson. Let's go!" Ascella launched a shadowshot in front of the team, and they got to work. Zahir leaped forward and destroyed a line of goblins with a slam of arc energy, Procyon began firing his hand cannon at the hydra, and Auva gathered void energy in her palm.

Lacer's finger lightly caressed the trigger of his sniper rifle as he looked over the field. Vex, guardians, a hydra, more Vex, and trees flew by his scope.

"Guys! Where the hell did Wasp go?" The titan panned over his surroundings again to be sure he hadn't missed the hunter. The chaos of the battlefield fell silent to his ears as they were rushed with blood. He looked left and right again, breathing heavily.

"Right here, tub shoulders!" A large barrel peeked out from behind a tree, and the vast shape of a drake tank followed. It turned its barrel toward Lacer, the target of highest elevation.

"Shit!" The titan began forming a shield of void energy and he was quickly struck by a massive bullet.

"Lacer!" Ascella ran toward the resulting explosion as her comrades continued battling the Vex.

"He has a tank?!" Auva smashed a goblin's head into the ground before she began to back up. The distant vehicle clicked as it ejected a large shell.

"Get ready!" Zahir ran forward and braced himself. Auva had used her nova bomb to decimate a group of minotaurs, and Procyon's chaos reach was used to burn away at the hydra's chassis. That left his thundercrash.

"Uh oh." Wasp watched the approaching missile titan through the tank's heads-up display and kicked the hatch open above him. "Time to abandon ship!" He sprung out from the tank, catching as much air as he possibly could.

Zahir barely managed to avoid hitting the tank and thrust himself upward to change his trajectory. Wasp showed no emotion as he ran away, continuing the chase. He was faster. He'd be able to catch the hunter…

"There we go! Thanks for making my life a whole lot easier!" Wasp kicked against the hydra's shields and jumped away, leading the titan straight into the Vex mind's body. A brilliant explosion of arc energy sent pieces of bronze flying everywhere, catching the attention of the other guardians.

"So you were after this Vex." Zahir looked around him, trying to pinpoint which piece of the robotic menace his enemy was after.

"Yeah. This Damocles is gonna fetch a pretty penny." The hunter boosted into the air, performing a backflip to catch a circular mind core.

"Hey, that's not good!" Ascella watched the scene while holding Lacer, whose head had begun regenerating from his skull, "whatever messed up Vex tech that caught you guys and killed Altair is gonna get even more out of hand if he gets that mind core! I just know it!"

Zahir, Auva, and Procyon fired their weapons at Wasp, who began retreating to his tank.

"Ugh…" Lacer clutched his head as he regained consciousness and took in the situation for himself. My pride's gonna suffer for that one… Hey, Ascella, you ever hear the story of how Efrideet…"

"...Threw Saladin like a spear? Of course I do. She's a model hunter!"

"I need you to try your best." Lacer pat Ascella on the shoulder and jumped into the air.

"Woah- hey! Are you saying I'm not as good as her?" She caught the titan in her arms. She was glad Lacer elected to use slimmer armor than most of his class.

"You can have time to be jealous later!" The last of his sentence jolted in his throat as he was thrown by an angry and adrenaline pumped hunter. "Alright, you two cent gun for hire!" Lacer raised his fist as he sailed through the air in a tangle of limbs. "You better grit those teeth!"

The titan didn't quite land a punch, but his body crashing into the hunter was enough to send the two tumbling down a hill.

"Get offa me!" Wasp grunted, spinning as he descended. He jabbed his elbow upward at the base of Lacer's helmet, knocking it clean off and exposing his shaggy brown hair. Lacer was soon flung off of the hunter by another attack before they reached the base of the hill. They both took a moment to collect themselves as they stood up.

Wasp brushed his shoulder and began to chuckle.

"What's so funny, punk? I'll hit you for sure this time." The titan cracked his knuckles.

"I knew it. I know who you are. Your skill with a sniper. Your vanity. Your face. Your stupid name!" Wasp held a knife in one hand and pointed at Lacer with the other.

"Stupid name?! Hey, take that back!" Lacer lashed out and began stomping forward.

"Your pride, too. You're Bootes, aren't you?"

Lacer's foot slammed into the ground as he stopped. His face remained solid.

"I knew it. I knew you didn't die!" Wasp began to laugh again. "You know I took after you, right? You inspired me to become a mercenary! And now look at you. You're a lackey for the Vanguard. What's next? You gonna settle down? Start a family?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Lacer retrieved his helmet from the ground and put it on.

"Lacer?" Zahir stepped over the hill, calling out after his friend.

Lacer clenched his teeth. Of all times to show up, this would be the worst.

"What's all this about taking after you?" The exo titan kept his eyes trained on Wasp and drew his pulse rifle. The footsteps of the rest of his team followed behind him.

"Didn't ya notice?" Wasp gripped a hand cannon holstered at his waist, "the best one out of all of you at killing guardians was this fool! Tell me, how much do you really know about him, huh?"

"I'm not listening to a word you say." Zahir trained his sight forward. "Tell us about this Vex mind. Tell us about your boss. You're outnumbered."

"I'll get outta jail like it's nothing. Go ahead and arrest me." Wasp bluffed nervously as Auva, Procyon and Ascella appeared beside Zahir. He didn't expect to run into so much resistance on a simple retrieval mission. "Ya know, you're awfully quiet." He turned his attention to Lacer. "Why don't you spit it out, eh? Tell them the truth! You were a heartless killer who'd do anything for a mountain o' glimmer, right?!"

Lacer was visibly shaken by Wasp's words. He felt several pairs of eyes burn into him from behind like watchful beasts ready to snatch him up.

"It's not true." He whispered for nobody to hear.

Procyon's fingers twitched. He felt a rising amount of tension fill the air. He wasn't going to watch as the one man he had left to look up to, his fireteam leader, was shamed in front of him. He didn't care if Wasp was telling the truth or not. In that moment, all he saw was vulnerability. Pure vulnerability.

A stream of arc energy erupted from his hand, and the ground began to split under their feet.


	15. Chapter 15

Zahir groaned as he raised his head. Darkness surrounded his vision, only lightly pierced by the cracks in the ground above him. He had awoken in tunnels lightly broken up by the occasional presence of vex architecture.

He looked around him to see Lacer and Auva. They too began to rise after him.

"Jeez. What happened?" Lacer bumped his helmet back into place with his palm.

"I dunno," Auva rose up, looking around her feet, "all I remember is Wasp talking about all that crap, then Procyon shooting his chaos reach."

"That must have been it." Zahir looked back up.

"You mean it was so strong it split the ground open?" Lacer exclaimed, taking a step back.

"No, he's not THAT strong, idiot. He probably hit a soft spot in the ground. See all that space between these tunnels and the crack?" Auva picked her fusion rifle off of the ground and dusted it off. Lots of dirt from the surface had fallen on to them.

"Speaking of Wasp… Lacer, what was that all about?" Zahir looked to his friend, who froze at the question.

"Yeah. You, uh, were his inspiration or something?" Auva looked over as well.

The titan stood still as he was confronted by those who put trust in him. He had to be careful in the manner that he answered this question.

"Well… it's true that I… I used to be a notorious mercenary," Lacer looked cautiously at Zahir and Auva as he spoke, "and that I did some bad things for money."

"Like what?" Zahir crossed his arms, and Auva looked between the two titans worriedly.

"Lied. Stole. Even killed. One day, I was left for dead and caught. Barely managed to escape. I bugged out to the city and decided to ditch my old identity."

"And what was your name? Your real name." Zahir stared Lacer down from behind his helmet. The silence became unbearable.

"I'll tell you when we find the others and get out of here." Lacer answered dismissively and looked behind him, at a dark pathway leading elsewhere.

"He's right, Zahir." Auva agreed, continuing to look between the two.

"Okay. That's true. Let's regroup and find Wasp." Zahir sighed deeply and followed his teammates, who had already begun moving on. If Lacer had done everything he said, he had to pay for his crimes. Zahir wasn't going to let a criminal run loose, even if they were one of his closest friends.

Wasp struggled to escape the hunter and warlock attacking him. He was restricted by the tightness of the underground prison he had been cast into. Arc abilities crackled against the column he leaned against, and smoke crawled into his synthetic lungs.

"Get back here, you creep!" Ascella lobbed a void filled grenade in front of her. Procyon fired at the pillar with his hand cannon, and the stone began to crack.

"Listen, you imbeciles. Now's not the time to be fighting each other! That mind is- ow!" Wasp yelped in pain as a bullet nicked his arm.

"There we go! How does it feel to actually be shot? Move forward, Procyon!" Ascella unsheathed her sword and stepped toward Wasp's position.

"Listen to me! That mind is gonna kill us all if you don't stop trying to kill me and hear me out! It's… right next to you! Left! Watch out!"

"Huh?" Ascella looked to her left and saw nothing. "Liar!"

"Your other left!" Wasp stepped out of cover and hopped into the air. Swirls of solar energy wrapped around his body as he produced fans of knives in each hand. The last thing Ascella and Procyon saw were grids of blazing blades rocketing toward their faces.

Procyon awoke to the chattering noise of Vex slap rifles multiplied tenfold. He opened his eyes as his body reformed from ash, and saw Wasp fending off hordes of Vex alongside Ascella.

"You see now, warlock? You left Damocles alive, and now it wants to kill us!" Wasp dodged a line rifle bolt and fired back at the hobgoblin with his sniper rifle. His target exploded into a cloud of radiolaria and metal limbs.

"As much as I hate to admit it," Ascella swiped her sword sideways and cut clean through a minotaur's torso, "we've gotta get rid of these Vex before doing anything else."

Procyon nodded and quickly joined the fight. He cast his chaos reach, but this time, it was not aimed at the hunter before him.

In the city, decades ago, Lacer kicked at the rocks littering the alleyway. He ignored every look and comment he got from passing civilians. He couldn't blame them. A fully armored homeless titan was not a common sight.

"Seriously, Lacer. We should take a bounty or something soon. Just quit laying around here like some emo slug." His ghost urged, appearing beside his hunched head.

"Don't have a ship..." He replied immediately, having had this conversation multiple times.

"Catch a ride."

"That'd be humiliating." His defeated voice sank low.

"And this isn't?!" Jolt practically yelled, to no effect on her guardian.

"No." Lacer thought to himself, "hitting rock bottom here is fine. It's only when other guardians are involved that it's just straight up depressing."

The noise of armor clanking beside him caused his heart to jump into his throat, and he fell off of his makeshift chair as a black and orange armored titan's shadow towered over him.

"I heard rumors of a guardian moving in here." Said an exo's gravelly voice from behind the helmet.

"Y-yeah. You here to laugh at me? Got nothing b-better to do with your time?" Lacer pointed at his fellow titan with a shaky hand. He had been completely surprised by his presence, and Lacer didn't have enough time to think of a defensible retort. At least, something better than the sad excuse he had just spouted.

"No." The orange armored titan extended an open hand. "I'm not here to make fun of you. I just want to help you. I'm Zahir-2."

"Bullshit." Lacer smacked Zahir's arm away. "You're going to be just like the rest of them. You're going to turn your back on me and spit on me."

Zahir thought for a moment, then reached out again. "If people were out to hurt you, they'd have done it already. I want to help you. I have a place for you. I've been recruiting guardians for a scout team I'm building, and I need members."

"And you're gonna go with garbage like me?"

"People have made guardians out of worse." Zahir kept his hand extended, to Lacer's surprise. Was he seriously still trying?

"Well..." Lacer grabbed the exo's hand and hauled himself up, dusting his greaves off. "Treat me to some grub and I'll consider it. I'm starving."

Zahir nodded and let out a stiff chuckle. "I can assure you, I'll do just that."


	16. Chapter 16

"We've almost got it! Where are Zahir and the others? I still can't get any responses." Ascella ducked back into cover as the space she once inhabited was pelted by the rapidly blossoming impacts of torch hammers. "I'm really getting tired of fighting Vex…"

Wasp took a glance at the hydra before them. Its plating was beginning to fall apart. He saw his chance…

"Whelp, it's been fun, you two."

"Huh?" Ascella looked up in front of her to see her fellow hunter facing away from the hydra, glowing bright orange. "You son of a-" she was struck in the head, and an explosion sounded the aftermath to Wasp as he spun to hit Procyon next. After temporarily disposing of the guardians, he quickly turned around to claim his bounty.

"And that's how I snagged Damocles. Pretty sneaky, eh?" The hunter tossed the scorched mind core between his hands as he approached the dark warlock.

"Do not treat it like a toy." Arcturus reached for it, but Wasp held his hand back.

"Ah ah ah, big man. You know, having to team up with those losers was humiliating. No, them showing up in the first place was a pretty big headache. I think I need some compensation, don't you?" Wasp flung the core into the air and caught again, eliciting a slight twitch from the warlock.

"You carry out your missions knowing the risks that come with it. You finished the job. Give me Damocles." Arcturus reached again, but Wasp skipped backward.

"In case you haven't figured it out, pal, I'm a lot stronger than you. Here's how this works. I do your dirty work, you pay me. You. Pay. Me."

"I see," Arcturus lowered his arm "of course. You must be compensated for your hard work. Perhaps you deserve the greatest of rewards. Everything you have ever wanted in life. That is your goal, is it not? A state of contentment."

"What are you babbling about? Hand over my glimmer." Wasp flicked his wrist to produce a knife. Before he could lift a finger, raise his arm, or look back up at the warlock, his vision went dark.

=You are wretched.=

"Huh?"

=Do you enjoy being wretched?=

"What do you mean? I mean, it kinda depends on the situation, I guess, but-"

=You have lived your life through wretched acts.=

"And?"

=Would you like to see where that leads you?=

"Uh…"

=Slumber. Endlessly.=

…

Wasp lived the rest of his life as it would normally play out. Eventually, the city caught up to him.

...

=A lifetime of hurting others.=

"Yeah…"

=Did you enjoy it?=

"I dunno."

=Then do you think you would enjoy a lifetime of giving kindness?=

"Eh, why the heck not?"

=Slumber. Endlessly.=

…

A world with no Traveler. No light. No aliens.

...

=Did you enjoy it?=

"What does it matter?"

=Would you like to know a secret?=

"What?"

=Live again.=

…

Wasp experienced a tale of two hunters that were once one. A man who sought nothing but power lured the noble guardian to his cause. He despised his nobility. The [REDACTED] of DAMOCLES was used to create a rift in time, separating the hunter forever. One was left an empty husk, and was left with his spark. The other died with his righteousness, to be found again. The experiment, deemed a failure, was locked away in MY mind.

...

=Are you satisfied?=

"Hell no. How many times are you gonna do this? How long have I been here? It's gotta be at least… a hundred years? How long have I been here? Wait, that story, was that… Hey!"

Wasp awoke to a red sky. His joints felt stiff and heavy. Then he did not feel them.

"Who am I nowl? Somebody new?" He reached up with his arm, but nothing happened, other than the sensation tucked into his mind from previous lives.

"Move!" He felt a rickety sensation to his right, and a thin bronze limb entered his vision, covering the red clouds.

"Huh. Did that thing turn me into an alien?" He willed his body to stand itself up, then took a look at his body. It was a strangely familiar sight, but it was something he had not seen in a long time.

"No way. No way!" He stumbled around, not used to manipulating the many pistons and axles that made up his legs, and looked into what he assumed was a puddle. A fan-shaped head joined by a red eye stared back.

"I'm back. I'm back!? Wait… what was his name… Arcturus! And uh… Damocles! Is Damocles the one who… wait… I had a ghost. Right? That's what… my ghost! Ghost! Hey, are you here? What was her name… Phoebe? Bella? No, that was my… I don't remember… that was a lifetime ago…" The goblin looked over the ruins of the Ishtar Sink through his new lens. He saw a skeleton near him; in his peripheral vision. Was it his? It didn't matter. He had been through a lot, but one feeling remained. A feeling of hatred toward the warlock that had put him through a lifetime of nothing.

In the city, Zahir looked Lacer up and down as he read a Vanguard report. "You have to at least answer for your crimes. I'm sorry, but this is the way it has to be." His friend had been cast in an entirely new light to him, but he knew that the charming, sometimes egotistical titan in front of him was every bit the good man he had come to know.

"I know. Why do you think I told you, of all people? Because I know you'll do the right thing, and I can't trust myself to do the right thing, because I never HAVE done the right thing. I'm a coward who ran away from my problems. I've created a monster."

"You have done good things. You tried to turn your life around. I know you're a good person, just try and stay calm. I think I have enough evidence to clear your name." Zahir looked back at his data, but the screen flashed red. He instinctively held it away from him, fearful of what it could mean.

A familiar, snarky voice called to him, "Hey, titan! Guess what? I've got Korne AND the girl! If you don't get your sorry excuse for a team here in the next hour, I'll kill 'em both! Good luck! Oh, if you were thinking of calling the police, if I hear a single siren, it's over."


	17. Chapter 17

"I'm Wasp."

"You're not Wasp. He's a hunter, not a talking Vex!" Eltanin kept her sidearm aimed at the Goblin's head as she shuffled toward Korne, who had begun exploring the decrepit warehouse on his own.

"No, no, listen! You know how, uh, Arcturus was all fancy with Vex tech?" Wasp manipulated his thin bronze arms to try to make gestures, but they were slow. "I don't know how he did it, but that mind of his, Damocles, made me… how do I say it… I lived multiple lives, and my mind got spit out into this chassis."

"Multiple lives? That's right… time flows differently in the Vex network…" Eltanin softened her gaze. "Wait, how do you know me? And why did you get Korne?"

"Er, that's not important. I'll explain Korne later. Right now, we need to work on stopping Arcturus." Wasp's eye flared, and a red holographic image began to paint itself in front of him. A large cave that welled out near the bottom. A large, hydra-like chassis was pinned to a metal wall with its arms spread out. Its head dropped down at an awkward angle.

"Where is this?"

"Venus, somewhere. I don't know, it's been a long time."

"How long?"

Wasp sighed as he recalled what had happened during his slumber, "I lived out the rest of my life as a mercenary. Things didn't go well, I'll tell you that much. Everything came crashing down. My next life was pretty nice, actually. No Traveler, no aliens, just me, and…"

Eltanin watched as the red line-map flickered away. The Goblin frame let out an echoing howl and clutched its head. As she walked forward to console Wasp, the door of the warehouse was kicked open.

"Eltanin! We're here! Where's Wasp?" Zahir aimed his pulse rifle at the Goblin, confused immediately by the sight.

"Yeah, where is he? I'm gonna teach him a lesson!" Lacer barged in next.

"Is that the Korne guy?" Auva peeked in alongside Procyon.

"Wait! Stop! This is Wasp right here!" Eltanin spread her hands out in front of her.

Korne, frightened by the sudden commotion, drew his knife and turned toward Lacer. The titan responded by smacking the hunter in the face with a backfist, knocking him down.

"Lacer, help Korne up. I'm going to get Eltanin." Zahir walked toward the Goblin, keeping his rifle up. Lacer did as he was told, accompanied by Auva and Procyon.

"Zahir, put your gun down!" Eltanin moved in front of Wasp, blocking the titan's path. He didn't stop.

"I mean it, Zahir! Don't hurt him!" She glared with an intensity that chilled the exo to the bone. Her green eyes flared with panic and impatience. "Wasp has… he's been through a lot."

"You can't trust a man like him." Zahir let out weakly. He wasn't used to being talked to this way by Eltanin.

"But you have." Wasp shot back, looking in Lacer's direction, who had begun lifting Korne up from the ground.

The awakened hunter shook his head, his posture improved. "Ah, that was a nice dirt nap, I suppose. Who might you three be?"

Wasp looked back at Zahir. "Look, titan. I've had the opportunity to live my life to the fullest. More than once, in fact. I've had a lot more than I deserve. Believe me when I say this: I only want Arcturus dead.

Auva looked at Korne in bewilderment. "Y-you, you're…"

"Altair?" Procyon stepped back in surprise.

"Wait a minute…" Lacer rubbed his head in confusion.

"Who's this "Altair?" You getting me mixed up with another charming fellow?" Korne adjusted his dusty cloak and fixed his belt. His ghost floated beside him, her eye wide in confusion.

"Yes!" Wasp's voice cried aloud, shaking the warehouse with his now robotic voice, "that man right there, he's the original Altair. That's why I brought him here. There's something you need to know about him"

"Let me guess," Eltanin looked the hunter up and down, "Arcturus has something to do with this too?"

"Yeah," Wasp continued, "I dunno why, but Damocles told me… a whole lot. I'm starting to think Arcturus doesn't have full control over it. Anyway, apparently, after rejecting Phoros as his mentor, he convinced Korne to let him experiment on him under the name of Phoros. That's why the idiot Korne worships the ground that man walked on. Arcturus did some messed up experiments on Korne, and he effectively separated the "Korne" from him. That's why he's the bumbling oaf you see today."

"But it wasn't successful, and that's why he goes back sometimes? Like right now?"

"Exactly. Altair died after being removed, and was later found and revived by his ghost." Wasp pointed one of his three fingers at Korne. "Altair was the embodiment of Korne's nobility and kindness. That's why, and no offense to the man, he seemed a bit over the top. Didn't his personality kinda rub you the wrong way? Am I the only one?"

The building was cast into silence.

"Okay, I guess that was a weird question to ask. I was usually on the business end of his golden gun anyway. Listen, I know this is a lot to take in, but here's the bottom line. We gotta stop Arcturus. Who knows what he's gonna do with this Damocles of his?"

"He's right." Eltanin turned back to Wasp, "He showed me Arcturus' lair, and I've seen that chassis before. There's a reason it's so rare. Quria, Panoptes, Damocles is commissioning its own simulation powerhouse!"

"If it's any shot at stopping Arcturus, we have to take it." Zahir finally lowered his gun.

"Great. Listen, I had this helmet. It was called, erm, it looked like a bird's head. Celestial Nighthawk was its name. You guys had a hunter, right? Where is he?" Wasp looked over the group.

"Ascella is a she." Lacer remarked, "she's actually working with the Vanguard on confiscating your stuff, pal."

"You know, that's perfect for you. I was gonna lead you guys through a stash filled with traps so I could have a few laughs, but it looks like I'm not gettin' that. Let's go, then. Oh, first, I wanna talk to Korne's ghost."

Korne's polygonal companion turned to face the Goblin.

"What do you want, creep?"

"Oh, hey you guys!" Ascella waved as her friends approached the prison cell. She dumped a gunmetal grey cache into a corner and stretched her back. "So we're really working with Wasp, eh? Where is he?"

Wasp, now reduced to a Goblin's head, spoke from his nook in between Lacer's torso and arm. "Right here."

"Oh! Why are you a head?"

"Wouldn't want a Goblin walking around the city, right? I don't like this either."

Ascella knelt down to the head's level. "Actually, this is great, you worm." She flicked his eye and strolled back to the assortment of bins, weapons, and armor spread out in the jail cell behind her.

"So the Nighthawk's in one of these?"

"Yeah. You good with a golden gun?"

Ascella paused. "Not really… but I can try."

"Good enough. We don't have much time. Crack open that orange safe. It's-"

A loud, metallic crash came from beyond the back wall. Everyone froze in silence.

"What was that?" Wasp began to shudder, "wait a minute. If I remember correctly, I had a partner. Where'd you idiots lock Seginus up?"

"Heh, funny you ask that now." Lacer took a step back, "I thought he was under MAXIMUM SECURITY!"

Ascella gulped. "He is. And he was locked up pretty close to here."

The crashing grew louder, and a voice called from down the hall.

"I hear Wasp! Where is Wasp!?"


	18. Chapter 18

Zahir yelled as he was flung through a window of the prison by Seginus. The hostile titan seethed in anger, and arc energy crackled around his body. He stood up above the corpses of Ascella, Auva, and Procyon as their ghosts scrambled to gather enough light to bring their guardians back from the dead.

"Ah, geez. You really want him that bad?" Lacer stumbled against a wall, cradling Wasp's Goblin head in his arm.

"I bet he does. If he got captured, I promised I'd break 'im out. Though it looks like he woulda been able to do it on his own." Wasp shakily answered as Lacer approached the shattered window.

"Alright. They'll be fine. He's not after their ghosts. As for Seginus himself, uh, I don't have my guns on me."

"So what's your plan, titan!? We're gonna die!"

"Run." Lacer turned around and leaped through the open window, descending onto the city below. He landed in an alleyway and ran as fast as he could, away from the mad titan that created a crater where he landed.

"Are you crazy? There's civilians out there!" Wasp stopped the titan in his tracks with his words, "but I guess Seginus doesn't care about that! Do you? I mean, it's not like-"

"I do care! I'm not gonna let innocent people die. I'd rather die myself!" Lacer stood his ground as Seginus charged him head on, "Hope you like heights, you're going for another ride!" Lacer took the Goblin head in one hand and chucked it behind him, into the hands of Ascella, who had swung by after being revived.

"I'll get him outta here. We need guns! Follow me!" Ascella waved to Procyon and Auva, who trailed right behind her.

Lacer spread his arms and created a bubble of void energy around himself. He felt his body become reinforced by the mysterious energy of the void and took Seginus' flying knee in his hands. Something was different, however. He felt a cold sensation crawl across his chest, causing his shielding to be slightly less resilient. The mercenary pulled his leg back and grappled with the other titan. Lacer pushed back as hard as he could, but he was overwhelmed by the arc powered menace opposing him, along with the weakness of his light.

"Almost in transmat range! Get ready!" Ascella held Wasp tight as she saw an airfield open up before her, unveiled by the parting of the narrow street she was escaping. Zahir, Auva, Procyon, and Ascella opened up their arms as their respective firearms entered their grasp. They turned around and stood waiting, aiming at the end of the street they came from.

"Where is this psycho? Doesn't he want Wasp?" Auva gripped her auto rifle tight.

"I'll try to suppress him, but I can't make any promises. He seems smart enough to go for me first, at least." Ascella let the familiar creep of the void envelope the space between her hands and her gunmetal grey scout rifle.

"I've already called the Vanguard. By the way, that prison break was no accident. Someone deliberately opened Seginus' cell." Zahir looked all around. A shadow was cast over him, and he looked up to see Seginus with his fists raised over his head. Blue arc energy sparked against the yellow light of the sun, and before he could respond, he was disintegrated by a fist of havoc. Seginus took no time in eliminating the rest of the fireteam, but before he could catch Wasp, Ascella threw the Vex machine forward, straight into Lacer's hand.

"Listen, titan. You ain't stopping him unless you hand me over." Wasp's voice grew tired as he watched Seginus march toward the pair, having finished off Ascella.

"I can't just let you die." Lacer's sniper rifle transmatted into his hand, and he pushed the familiar black stock into his chest.

"The hell you can!" Wasp retorted, "you know just how bad I am, for following a man like you!"

His words shook Lacer to the core.

"Shut up, punk!"

"Oh, is that something you didn't want to hear? Are you ashamed of your past, Orion?" Wasp replied slyly as Seginus stomped his final step on his path to Lacer. The titans were mere feet away from each other, and the mercenary continued to crackle with arc energy.

"You might be scum like I was, but you can change." Lacer looked down at Wasp's singular red eye.

"Nah, kid, I've been through a lot. I've lived twice as long as you because of Damocles, and I'm still a scumbag. It ain't happening. Hand me over. If anything I just wanna talk to Seginus. Been a while, you know?"

"I'm not negotiating-"

"With people like me? Buddy, I modelled my life after you! After Orion! Just gimme this."

Lacer reluctantly held the Goblin head out from his chest, and Seginus snatched it.

"You abandoned me! And look what you did! You turned into a Vex!" Seginus snarled, crushing the bronze with his grip.

"Ow, geez. Hey, Seginus. The boss broke you out, right? He told you I was here?" Wasp's voice grew strained as the titan crumpled what was left of his body in his hand.

"It doesn't matter."

"Didn't want me to spill any more beans, eh? Ow! Hah. Listen, buddy. Remember Orion?"

"We are Orion."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Listen, Seginus. Orion's a fake." Wasp looked back at Lacer out of the corner of his eye as he saw a web of cracks enter his vision.

"What?"

"Orion's a loser, and he's forgotten how to fight. Do you really want to be like him?" Wasp's speech grew more tired as his fan-shaped head began to splinter and break.

"Wait, Wasp. What are you doing?" Lacer reached forward, but Seginus lashed out and sent him flying backward, "WASP!"

"Yeah, in fact, that's him right there! Can you believe it?" Wasp let out a metaphorical gasp.

"No way. You lie." Seginus tightened his grip.

"Not a lie, my friend! Crackshot with a sniper rifle, cocky, same face, it's all there!" Wasp stopped talking. The modules that allowed that were now broken by the fingers of his partner. Perhaps he'd weakened his spirit just enough. Perhaps he'd done one good thing in his life that wasn't simulated. Perhaps he'd put his trust in the right people…

Lacer took out Seginus with a high caliber round to the skull. The mercenary fell along with the dented and cracked Goblin head.

"I'm sorry, Wasp-14."


	19. Finale Parts 1&2

**PART 1**

"Damocles." Arcturus walked up to the chassis with a mind core in his hands. The massive Vex's arms were pinned to the wall, and its head hung low, "I have gathered all of the modules you desire. The time has come. Awaken." He looked back at the mass of mote banks behind him and smiled.

"So, where are we gonna find Arcturus? Wasp said he just knew that he was somewhere on Venus. That doesn't exactly narrow it down." Auva tapped the floor of her jumpship with her foot impatiently.

"I don't think we need any more specifics. Look here." Procyon observed as a massive sinkhole opened up near the base of Maat Mons, the largest volcano on the planet.

As the team sped toward the site, Lacer patched into a private communications channel.

"Ascella, you there?"

"Yeah!" Her voice fired back, "what's up?"

"Hey, um, you pretty much know everything now. Right?"

"About Orion? I do…"

"And you know how I'm probably gonna get locked up if we stop Arcturus."

"WHEN we stop Arcturus. Don't worry, Lacer. To be honest, I felt kind of betrayed when I found out about everything you did, but listen to me. As long as all the time we spent together was genuine, you don't have to regret any of it."

Lacer rubbed his eyes, "but I don't deserve it. Wasp got what was coming to him because of me, too. I should be dead. Hell, I was worse than him, for all I know."

"Lacer, you're different from him. You chose to change, but he didn't. You're a good person. I believe in you. No matter what you may have been, I love the person that you chose to become."

"I-" Lacer was cut short by a broadcast from Zahir.

"That Vex mind crawling out of the ground. It has to be Damocles. We know that Arcturus is behind its awakening, and we know that it's capable of intense simulative power. That's all. Ready up. We're going to intercept and kill Damocles."

"Wait!" Auva decreased the speed of her ship as the Vex mind began to float away, disregarding the fleet of jumpships approaching it.

"It's… going away?" Ascella glued her face to the window of her cockpit.

Arcturus floated out of the sinkhole behind it with a single mote bank in tow. It rumbled and shook violently with dark energy. Damocles turned, and in one swift motion, it swept one of its arms at the warlock. Before it could connect a blow, its arm was stopped by a blast of void energy. Arcturus fought back.

"Why are they fighting each other? Aren't they in kahoots!?" Lacer watched, bewildered, as Arcturus defended himself from Damocles' attacks.

"Don't you know the first thing about Vex? They're going to be connected to the network. Always." Auva watched in intrigue as the fleet began flying around the battle.

"The sister-mind is fighting back. What a useless gesture." Arcturus deflected Damocles' arm with another blast of void energy then turned to his bank with a mote in hand. He slammed it into a triangular receptacle on the cylinder, and it flared to life. It shot a pitch dark beam into the sky, and it cleaved the air open.

"Did he just open the ascendant realm!?" Zahir continued to circle the scene as a three-fingered hand descended from the wound in the sky. The wound bled to the ground, and an astral void of Taken energy swept across the yellow rocks and blue pools in its path.

"So that's why he needed motes…" Auva landed on the ground, along with the rest of the fireteam.

The Vex mind turned away at the sight of the massive hand, but Arcturus had already cut off its path. The hand, glowing white, grabbed Damocles like it was nothing but a toy.

"Arcturus! What the hell are you trying to do!?" Zahir ran at the warlock. His feet sparked with arc energy as the others shot at the colossal fingers entrapping Damocles. It lifted the mind up, and the world turned a blinding white.

"You have lost." The warlock's voice boomed, "my eternal slumber begins with you, Zahir-2. We will destroy all life in this wretched system, so that nobody may ever be in pain again."

…

=You. Are. Hurting.=

"Huh?"

=You. Are. In. Pain.=

"Me? Where am I? Where are the others? What happened?"

=Zahir. 2. You. Have. Suffered. All. Your. Life.

Uxar. Thuban. Kale. 8. Heather. Vira. Saiph. You. Lived. Through. Their. Deaths. As. The. Sole. Survivor. Alone.=

"What are you talking about? How do you know that?"

=What. Would. You. Think. Of. A. World. Without. Pain?=

"I don't know."

Zahir's vision went white again, and he felt a hard surface on his face.

"Mr. B! Hey, Mr. B!" A familiar voice called out to him, but it seemed different. Higher.

"Mr. B, you takin' a nap before class? You're lucky the big man's taking a stroll around the math department right now. Wake up!"

"Lacer?" Zahir let out groggily as he opened his eyes. He was in a classroom. =His classroom=. He looked at the =familiar= tile floor, the sand green cabinets, the desks bound to chairs by metal bars, and =his own= desk. It was new, but it felt =familiar=. The nameplate in front of him read, "=Mr. Benetnasch=."

**PART 2**

"Who are you callin' Lacer? Is that a new nickname?" The tall boy in front of him put his hands on his hips, "you gotta get more sleep, Mr. B."

"Of course. My bad, Lucas." Zahir pushed his =glasses= up and opened his desk drawer to pull out a stack of notes. The last of =his class= began to pour in as 8:20 AM drew near. He took note of the =familiar= faces in his class.

"Eltanin," he thought, "=no, that's Ellie. Ellie Fidi, not to be confused with Ellie Gartner=. Ascella, no, =Ashley, Ellie Fidi's best friend=. =Ava=, not Auva, and =her childhood friend= Procyon. No. =Proctor is his name=."

He re-familiarized himself with his class as he placed a note sheet on each of their desks. Many of them looked tired. Some chatted, some talked, some were busy with their smartphones, and some were having a snack before class. =Of course=, Zahir allowed his students to do so. As he walked back to his desk to stow the extra sheets that remained in his hand, the bell rang. He waited for its monotonous tone to conclude as he turned the projector in the middle of the room on on his way back.

"All right, class. Since today's an assembly day, we're going to jump right into our notes. This is the last chapter of material that's going to be on the test." He hit a button on his laptop, and the projector screen behind him began displaying a slideshow. It read, "World War 1: The Armistice."

He read off of his notes, occasionally mixing in =his own= bit of knowledge for the students to write down, to ensure they were paying attention. =Of course=, he saw Lucas asking for answers from Ashley, who reluctantly agreed.

"Private Henry Gunther was struck down by the Germans in the last minute of the war, at 10:59. He was the last casualty of World War One. Gunther is still a topic of debate today. Was he a selfless soul that was willing to fight for his country to the end? Or did he sacrifice himself to prove a point?" Zahir finished his last comment as the bell rang again. Many of the students had already packed most of their belongings at this point.

He looked over to Lucas' desk, and, =sure enough=, the boy was the only one remaining in the classroom. He was in the frantic process of piling his belongings, of which there were many, into his backpack.

"There. You better get going now." Zahir helped Lucas pack the last of his belongings away.

"Whew. Thanks, Mr. B. This is why you're my favorite teacher." Lucas whipped the backpack around his seat and pulled it up.

"Because I make your passing periods convenient?" Zahir walked back to his desk.

"No, 'cause even though you're as old as a fossil, you really do care about your students." Lucas quickly walked to the door and swung it open.

"Thank you, Lucas." Zahir watched as he exited the room before popping his head back in.

"Oh, uh, just making sure. You've got tutoring after school today, right?"

"Yes. Though I doubt you need it, or that you'd want to stick around on a Friday."

Lucas nodded and disappeared behind the door as Zahir's next class walked into the classroom.

The day went on, and Zahir was left in his classroom doing administrative work as the students left school for the weekend. He ignored the =voice= in his head, which asked him odd questions.

To his surprise, the door to his room opened, and Lucas walked in.

He looked up at the silent boy. "Is this unit hard for you? You're usually-"

Lucas was followed by several students from his other classes. One of them held a small white box, and the other held a large paper bag.

"Surprise, Mr. Benetnasch! No way we'd forget about your birthday! I mean, it's tomorrow, but we don't like you THAT much." Lucas joked.


	20. Finale Parts 3&4

The finale to Sons of Phoros. Stay tuned for more writing!

**PART 3**

"You all did this for me?" Zahir watched as the students arranged a few desks in front of his own. Ellie set the box in front of him and opened it to reveal a strawberry cake, rich with frosting.

After having cake, the students presented him with the orange and black paper bag he had seen earlier. Out of it came a clay sculpture of a man in a cloak.

Ellie spoke up, "uh, I know you really like your war stories, so I made this for you in my pottery class."

Zahir smiled and set the sculpture on his desk. "It looks wonderful. Thank you."

The students began to leave. Lucas approached Zahir's desk as Ellie set the last desk back in place.

"Mr. Benetnasch! You know that story about Henry Gunther you told us?" Lucas put his hands down and leaned forward, "I want to be like him! I mean, I don't know exactly what he was thinking, but both possibilities are inspiring. Pride for his country, or pride for the work he did, doesn't matter! That's something else!"

"That's good to hear. Gunther's story is one of my personal favorites as well." Zahir looked over at the sculpture.

"Oh, I gotta run. I have work today. See you, Mr. B!" Lucas bolted out of the classroom, and Ellie let out a hushed laugh.

"What a goofball. Hey, Mr. Benetnasch. Is something wrong?" Ellie looked over at her teacher, who had begun staring off into the distance.

"Oh, no. I must be tired." Ellie reminded him of someone. Someone he knew seemingly long ago.

Zahir lived the rest of his life as a teacher. When his life ended, he met the thought-voice again, and he went through another life. And the next.

=You see. You can never truly be happy, because all things come to an end. Come, herald of the light. Help us cast this world into an eternal slumber.=

Zahir felt his will weaken with each life. Every set of years he experienced were lost. Again and again.

However, there was an anchor to reality in each of these simulations. Her name was Eltanin.

"Back home, Eltanin's waiting for me."

=She will perish too, eventually. All things will. Existence is a struggle.=

"That's what makes it worth living."

=Come with us! With your light, Arcturus will ensure that nobody is ever pained again.=

"Pain doesn't make life not worth living."

=You are a fool. Though this is taking longer than expected, you will succumb eventually.=

Outside, on the surface of Venus, Korne waded through a sea of darkness to get closer to the taken Vex mind at the center of it. He saw a hunter, two warlocks, and a titan, struggling against cages made of Vex pylons.

Korne looked down at his hand and stared at it for a moment before reaching down to unholster his hand cannon.

"What a mess I've stumbled upon, eh?"

His ghost watched solemnly as her guardian took in the scene. She thought back to what had led to this moment.

"There's a way to fix Korne?" The ghost asked, floating slightly higher, "I mean, I'm not gonna believe you, but go on…"

"Listen, I dug deep into my Goblin body to find this. I'm probably gonna die anyway, so take it." Wasp placed a bronze key into Korne's hand. The hunter looked back at the Goblin with a blank stare.

"I can fix him? I can really fix him?"

"Of course it comes with a catch, my tiny eager companion. Look. You can either leave him as he is now…"

"Like hell I'd let him keep suffering!"

"Or you can start fresh. Completely fresh. Ain't no way to go around it, all his memories will be gone."

The ghost floated in silence.

"Yeah, I know. It sucks. In my opinion, what he doesn't know won't hurt him."

"I would be killing him!"

"Good! You won't have an idiot on your side anymore."

"But… as stupid as he may be, he's still Korne, in a way."

"Hey, fan head! Get over here now!" Lacer called from outside the warehouse.

"Right. Hey, I'm not gonna force you to make a choice, just giving you options here." The Goblin marched off, leaving Korne alone with his ghost.

They stood there for days as his ghost wandered the warehouse, thinking to herself.

Korne spoke for the first time since Wasp left, "Ghost… what… we doing here?"

She turned to her guardian, tired. "I don't know."

"Don't know… then let's get out…" Korne approached the exit.

The ghost perked up. "That's it!" She quickly floated to the hunter.

"Wha…"

"Korne!" She transmatted the key into his palm, "You're going to make your own choice for once! To hell with people telling you what to do your whole life! To hell with ME telling you what to do!

Listen closely, Korne. This is important."

**PART 4**

Present day Korne looked over the mess in front of him again. Four trapped guardians and a taken Vex mind. He didn't recognize any of them, but his ghost suggested that he help them out. He had only been awake for less than a day, so the scene was a lot to take in. There was one thing he knew for sure, though, and that was that the people trapped in cages had to be freed.

Korne walked up to the struggling titan and fired at the corners of his prison, freeing him.

"Ugh! Oh, geez. Korne? That you?" Lacer rubbed his head, but there was no time to think. Damocles creaked into motion and floated over to the pair with an outstretched arm.

"Stay away!" Lacer formed a shield of void energy, but a sharp pain in his chest followed.

"Not good. The pure darkness from that knife is really taking its toll on you." Lacer's ghost said.

The titan struggled to block Damocles' fire. Korne shot at the mind with his hand cannon from behind.

"You ever find out what the hell that knife was, anyway?"

"Yeah. When Wasp attacked Spekris' ketch last month, he stole something that the Guardian Killer had been working on before he died."

"Tivik."

"Right. Tivik had been concentrating the energy of the taken blights he came across into a dagger."

"No wonder it's doing me dirty right now." Lacer ran forward and dissolved his shield. He grabbed onto Damocles' face and ripped open its plates by expanding void energy in front of him. His attack exposed a glowing white orb. Damocles' core.

"My new friend, what are you doing?" Korne watched as the titan struggled to hang on to the taken beast's diamond shaped head.

"Hey, you! Korne! You're a gunslinger, aren't you? Take that weird bird-looking helmet from the other hunter! Quick! Your ghost'll tell you what to do!" Lacer swung his legs up and used them to force Damocles' faceplates open wider.

"Lacer!" His ghost yelled, "you're not going to survive if you keep doing this! The taken energy is intense, and you're draining every ounce of our light to keep this void energy flowing!"

"Jolt, I made a promise to myself. That I'd be a good person."

"Lacer…"

"So come on, pal. Ride with me one last time, and let's fulfill my wish. Plus, I'll look great while doing it. Heh."

Korne slipped on the Celestial Nighthawk. "Are you sure he's gonna be fine if I use this?" Lacer's body was spread right in front of the eye of Damocles, in the path of a hypothetical gunshot.

"I've run the calculations. Any guardian should have enough light to hang on, even if you disintegrate him.

"Take the shot, kid! Hurry!" Lacer groaned as he felt the cold sensation in his chest crawl to his limbs. A storm of taken energy began to howl and whip around the area.

=Zahir-2! Usher in a new age! An age of painlessness! A world where nobody will ever be unhappy again!=

This Korne had never cast a golden gun before, but it felt natural to be cloaked by solar energy. The warmth spread to his hands as a revolver of pure fire formed in his palms. He aimed straight at Damocles' exposed eye. At Lacer. He took a deep breath and pulled the trigger, ending the Eternal Slumber.

As Lacer felt his body turn to ash from the middle out, he looked to the sky, which was no longer wounded by the deep. His light was gone, and he couldn't feel the touch of his ghost.

"That's it, eh?" He floated lower as his arms and torso disappeared, "guess my pride really got to me in the end…"

The last thing he saw was Zahir's body being spit out of Damocles before his vision faded to black.

Zahir turned away from the grave as the last patch of dirt was pat down. "Rest in peace, Lacer. I'm glad you got your final wish."

Ascella looked at him with teary eyes, "are you going to be okay, Zahir?"

The exo looked back. His mechanical eyes looked like they'd aged a millenia, because they had. "Yes. I'll be fine."

"What exactly happened back there?"

"Just as Wasp said. Eternal slumber is living endless simulated lives to break down your perception of reality. I lived at least one hundred and thirty lives in the short time I was captured. Damocles did a lot to me. Said a lot to me. It made me think. It and Arcturus wanted me to destroy the world, but I did my best to refuse. Because I know this life is real, and that it's worth living for, no matter what hardships I go through. There's something in the end, and that's the satisfaction of what I've done."

"What will you do? You said you're done fighting. That you're done being a guardian!" Ascella wiped her tears away.

Zahir looked back at the city. "I'm going back to the person that kept me sane during my slumber. Maybe… I'll even settle down. I don't know. I'm done fighting for sure, though. It's not for me anymore. I will never go out into the field again. I'm moving on." The exo walked away as his ghost transmatted his armor off for the last time.

Korne looked over the grave of the titan he never knew.

"You really didn't know him for long, huh?" His ghost spun her shell beside him.

"No, but one thing's for sure. I've been inspired by him. I want to be like him." Korne crossed his arms, "this noble man, I'll carry on what he did in his name."

Korne turned to look at his fellow hunter.

"Ascella, was it? I hear you're the new leader of a scouting team…"


End file.
